Wykkyd Retribution
by Craniax
Summary: After the Titans triumphed over the Brotherhood of Evil, they left the villains in a frozen state. Weeks have gone by, but although good may have forgotten about them, evil did not. Thanks to one of the Titan's biggest nemesis, Kyd Wykkyd has been freed from his icy prison and is hellbent on revenge. But his mission to eradicate the Titans takes an unexpected turn thanks to Raven.
1. The Bleed: Into the Void

A heads up to all new readers; the nine chapter of The Bleed Arc establish Kyd Wykkyd's character and developing relationship with Raven. Some author's make them a couple right off the bat but with my story their relationship will unfold progressively. The Bleed Arc will give insight to Kyd Wykkyd's thoughts, morals, and emotions which will help you understand the decisions he makes in the Arcs to follow. That being said, if you want to skip straight to the final battle between the Brotherhood and Titans, and see how your favorite teleporter is unfrozen, feel free to start at the Titans Together Arc. But in my opinion, The Bleed Arc is humorous, suspenseful, action packed, and definitely worth a read.

* * *

The Bleed Arc takes place in "Calling All Titans" during the battle between Kyd Wykkyd, Psimon, and Raven. As previously stated, It will establish a relationship between Kyd and Raven as well as explore certain aspects of the DC universe you may not be familiar with. Here are some of the aspects this arc will include:

Daemonites (Reptilian Alien Race Kyd and Raven will encounter in The Bleed)

The Bleed (An inter-dimensional plane that holds barriers to other dimensions.)

The Carrier (The shift ship capable of moving through The Bleed dimension)

After The Bleed Arc, Kyd and Raven will be back in their own dimension and the final battle between the Titans and the Brotherhood will play out in the Titans Together Arc.

* * *

 **CH1: Into the Void**

We were originally going out tonight. The research lab was having a sale on computers; steal one, get one free. We had told See-More to invite Jinx to come with us after they were done with the whole sucking up to Madam Rouge dilemma. But our plans were changed when we received a transmission on a private channel. We took the call and on the monitor was the Brain and an overgrown gorilla. We couldn't believe it, the Brotherhood was actually contacting and offering us membership.

We were all skeptical and less than thrilled. Like Billy said, we didn't need someone tying us down and giving us orders. But the proposition from the Brain was intriguing to say the least; complete nullification of the Teen Titans. As we began to talk it over amongst the team, See-More walked into the base. He looked down in the dumps and it didn't take someone with Gizmo's IQ to deduce that he was like that because Jinx didn't comeback with him.

'Sorry man.' I said. It was hard seeing my best friend let down. But being the blunt teleporter I was, I explained to him what was going on regarding our invitation to join the big leagues. See-More's composure hardened, like his confidence was brought back through a triggered memory. This opportunity would definitely be a good chance to blow off some steam, and possibly get even with the speedster that made us look like fools.

"Let's do it." With the confident input See-More gave, we all followed suit, and agreed to become a part of the Brotherhood.

…

Divide and conquer. That was the basic strategy for the side that had numbers to spare. Sure, the Titans had their multitudes. But we villains were an army. The Brain put together assault teams comprised of multiple baddies. He made sure that the Titan the group was assigned to capture was always outnumbered or outclassed.

Psimon and I were tasked to intercept and capture Raven over the Pacific. She put up a fight and we had her… at first. One attack led to another. I remember coming out of warp and wrapping around her like a snake suffocating its prey in an attempt to drag her into my dimension. Little did I know that she was one word away from finishing her incantation.

"Zinthos!"

I remember feeling strange. A burst of black magic emanated from Raven as I struggled to maintain ahold of her. Finally, I had no choice but to let go since the immense power was disrupting my ability to teleport. Next thing I knew, I lost consciousness.

When I came to, I felt woozy. It was probably due to my failed attempt to dimension jump. Usually I can teleport no problem. I could even do it with several people at a time and still be fine. But the feedback from Raven's magic must have disrupted the initial jump.

'Where am I?'

I looked around and judging by my surroundings the situation was dire. I found myself in a void. There was darkness everywhere and yet amidst its grip on the atmosphere, there was a little bit of light. It was as though I was walking through a dark thundercloud whose lightning was discharging in a repetitive pattern like light breaking through a blanket that was covering a lamp.

To make matters worse… I had one very pissed off titan to deal with.

Raven jumped at me seemingly from nowhere and tried to punch me in the face. I was caught off guard because Raven never fights hand to hand, she always uses her magic. I dodged her pathetic attempt to sock me in the jaw, maneuvered behind her, and kicked her in the back. She landed on the floor chest first.

I could tell she was annoyed. She picked herself up and got into what I assumed was a fighting stance. She held both of her fists close to her upper body but not quite touching it. She looked like she had watched too many fake wrestling shows.

'What are you doing?' I asked.

She looked surprised for a second but responded quickly. "What do you mean?"

'That is the worse battle stance I have ever seen.'

Raven sweat dropped and looked annoyed but regained her composure quickly.

"You can do better?"

'I can actually.'

I casually walked over to her not even bothering to get into a serious fighting stance. She swung at me with her right arm and it was the slowest, most pathetic punch I had ever had the pleasure of dodging. She swung at me again this time with her left. I blocked it with my right arm, grabbed her forearm with my left, and turned her around whilst pinning her arm against her back. It wasn't twisted enough to dislocate it, but it was enough to give her some discomfort.

"Ow ow ow ow OW OW OW!"

I pushed her away and she rubbed her arm which I had apparently almost ripped off by the sound of her complaining.

'Why haven't you used your magic?' I asked.

I watched as her face became grim. Her guard never went down, but I could tell something was off about her.

"I can't."

'…'

"Whatever this place is, I can't use my magic here."

I was taken aback by her response. That explains why she tried to fight me hand to hand. Right when I woke up I knew something was off about this place. I was not in my normal pocket dimension, and we were not on normal earth either, obviously. We got here as a result of my teleportation, which meant that if she couldn't use her powers…

I narrowed my eyes and extended my hand towards her. I was going to try to make a portal underneath her and make her come out a couple meters in the air. Not enough to damage her, but her ass would be sore for a while.

She looked at me suspiciously waiting for me to make my move.

Nothing happened.

'Shit…'

"You too?" she asked. She appeared to be relieved by the fact that I was incapacitated as well.

'Yea…'

Her relief was then replaced by disappointment.

"My powers don't work so I figured if anyone could get us out of this place, it would be you. But seeing as how you are just as powerless as me… seems like we're both stranded here."

We both stared at each other for a while. It was so awkward. It's been a good couple of months since I've seen her. I remember when she and her buddies destroyed our school. I disappeared with Angel while some other students formed the HIVE FIVE. It was a little after the Titans took down Brother Blood when I received a formal invitation to join. Took them long enough, but I didn't take it personally. After all, Angel and I had a good thing going till we split ways. But now I found myself stranded between dimensions with a Titan I was instructed to take down. Lovely.

'So now what?'

"…"

Raven looked at me as if I had asked the dumbest question ever.

"You're the one who brought us here! So NOW, I expect YOU to find a way out of it!"

'Jeez… Sorry I asked.'

Raven glared at me as she put on her hood and let the rest of her cape envelop her. "We'll settle our differences once we get out of here." She turned away from me and started walking. I doubt she even knew where she was headed. After all, the void we were in seemed to have no end.

'Where are you going?' She paused and gave me an annoyed look.

"Anywhere but here. Figure if we walk far enough we will find some clue that will help us get out of here."

'Uuumm…'

"You coming or what?"

Begrudgingly I followed her through the void. This day couldn't possibly get any worse.


	2. The Bleed: Wanderers

**CH2: Wanderers**

 _This day couldn't possibly get any worse…_

It did.

We must have been walking for hours. I wanted to stop and take a break but the titan just kept on going. As much as I wanted to get back home, I was not about to exhaust myself for it. After all, there was absolutely nothing here besides the fog. We had no food, no water, no powers, no resources of any kind. We had to be smart about how we progressed. Because passing out from hunger and dehydration was more realistic than us finding a way home at this point.

'Hey!'

Raven ignored me and kept on walking.

'I'm taking a break.'

I plopped down on the "ground" and stretched out as if I was on a beach on vacation. Man, it felt good to give my legs a rest. That's when I heard footsteps getting closer to me. If I was lucky, Raven would take my advice and rest too. I wasn't lucky.

She grabbed me by the cape on my shoulders and pulled me up so that I was level with her, and we were face to face. For a petite girl, she was strong.

"You don't get to take a break. It's because of you why we are stuck here in the first place. I'm not spending a second longer stranded with you if I can help it!"

I pushed her away from me to give us some distance.

'The way I see it, we must have been walking for at least a couple hours. We haven't run into anything but more fog. If there was a way out reachable through hiking continuously without rest, I think we would have found it by now. We are both tired, and we are no good to each other exhausted. So, if you want to keep wandering aimlessly, be my guest. I on the other hand am going to rest.'

I re-accommodated myself on the "ground" and stared at the "sky". It was nothing but darkness with the electrical discharges glowing in the fog.

Raven did death glare me for a good while but she eventually gave up when she realized I wasn't going to budge. I smirked in satisfaction as I saw her sit on the ground with her arms crossed.

'I surmise this is a sort of plane between dimensions. When I teleport, I access a place like this briefly. Think of it as a wormhole where you enter in one way and exit out another. Only time and space are relative when you cross the dimensional border. This is how I was able to intercept Kid Flash when the HIVE FIVE took him on a couple weeks ago.'

"Wait, you access a place like this one? Have you ever crossed through this dimensional plane?"

'I've never been in this plane. Our ending up here must have been a by-product of your powers mixing with my own. When I tried to trap you in my dimension and your powers kicked in, I could feel the dimensional jump was not fully complete. I can't say for sure how we ended up here, because no thanks to you, I passed out during the process.'

"So, this is my fault?" Raven looked at me ticked off.

'If you hadn't used your powers when I was trying to teleport, we wouldn't be in this mess. So yes, this is your fault.'

"If you and your buddy hadn't ambushed me, we wouldn't even be here! So technically, this is YOUR fault."

I rolled my eyes. 'It seems to me that we have all of eternity to argue about this if we don't starve to death. Personally, I think we can make better use of our time don't you think?'

"You really piss me off."

'I'm not too fond of you either titan. Now, why don't you use that head of yours to figure a way out of here? After all, you know how to teleport too.'

"I don't. It's pseudo intangibility. My powers allow me to pass through tangible objects giving the impression I can teleport."

'Fantastic.'

"Still, you might be onto something. It took both our powers to get here. I'm betting it's going to take at least that to get out. If we replay the feedback from the combination of our powers, it could knock us back into reality."

'That's a great idea. Except for the fact that we both don't have our powers.'

"I don't think that's the case."

I perked up and wondered what she meant. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she reopened them they were white. She extended her arm which had her signature black magic aura around it and did a swiping motion. Next thing I knew I was thrown across the void. It was a couple meters at least.

I was pissed. But I was more curious on how she got her powers back. If that was the case I was sure I could follow suit. I wrapped my cape around me and tried to teleport behind her. It worked. I had a clear shot at her backside but as I was going for the strike, she started to collapse. I ended up having to catch her or she would have hit her head, hard. Not that I would care but I needed to find out how she got her magic back.

Then I felt it also. Exhaustion. My knees were weak and I felt like blacking out. I eased myself and Raven to the floor carefully. We laid on the "ground" for a bit before either one of us had the energy to communicate.

'What… was that?'

Raven's body was still firmly pressed against mine while my arms wrapped tightly around her. Why do all the awkward situations happen to me? First Jinx on initiation day, then Angel at the school dance, and now this.

"It's as I thought." She said. "We do have our powers. But to use them, there is a price."

'We get drained easily.'

"Exactly. When my powers interfered with your teleportation, that was when we were first drained. When we came to, our bodies stamina were somewhat recovered. But our powers were completely depleted. The couple hours we spent wandering around were enough to replenish a portion of them like we saw just now. Whatever this void is, it makes it so that any utilization of our powers will result in exhaustion and we risk passing out."

I pushed her away in a passive manner to put some distance between us. We both sat up and didn't even know what this meant for us. How long would we have to wait until we were back at full power? How many attempts would we have to make in order to get back to our home?

'It took a couple hours to get back a fraction of my power to make that small jump. Imagine how long we BOTH have to wait to recover enough to duplicate the circumstances that knocked us into this dimension in the first place.'

Raven turned to face me and her expression was grim. But eventually, she looked at ease. Probably because we had a game plan to get out of here. It wasn't a done deal, but at least it was something to go off of.

"From now on we conserve everything. We could be stuck here for days. Once a couple 24-hour periods pass, I believe we will have enough of our powers back to re-create the events that made us end up here."

'With any luck, the re-created event will knock us back into our own dimension.'

"For now, we should rest and recover."

She turned away from me and wrapped herself in her blue cape. She looked so vulnerable, I couldn't imagine what was going through her mind. As for me, I was just as nervous as she was. To think that the war between the Brotherhood and the Titans would strand me with one of my rivals in a void that could very well be the death of us.

She was right thought. For now we had to rest. If we were lucky, we would both be able to walk away from this dimension, alive.


	3. The Bleed: The Bleed

**CH3: The Bleed**

The quality time Raven and I spent together included activities such as ignoring, glaring, and annoying one another. I didn't think I could take much more of this. I would ask her the simplest of questions, and she would go off on a tangent for hours about how villains were the scum of the earth and how it was my fault we were stranded in this infernal dimension. Part of me was hoping I would die of hunger or thirst so that I no longer had to endure her pontificating. But I came to discover that the scenario I was hoping for would never come to pass. It had been days and not once had my stomach growled. It was odd to say the least. It seemed that while the utilization of our powers came at the cost of our stamina, our hunger and thirst were never affected. Sure, space and time worked differently in pocket dimensions, but I was not expecting this.

It begged the question if we were even aging while we were trapped here. And if we made it back, would we return right after we had disappeared, or would months' time have passed back on earth? I felt as if we would find out soon because I was now fully recovered. Raven who was also back at one-hundred percent looked anxious to test out our theory. Surely if we duplicated the circumstances that knocked us into this dimension the first time, the feedback would hopefully knock us back to our normal dimension. Or at least a facet I could get us out of with my own powers.

"You ready?" she asked.

I nodded.

We positioned ourselves opposite of each other several meters apart, unsure of what was going to happen. The plan was for me to teleport Raven as I did when we were over the Pacific mid incantation. She should finish her mantra right before I warp and if all went according to plan, her powers would repel or react to my own and generate the same feedback loop that knocked us into this void.

'Here we go.' I levitated off the ground and started to head towards Raven. My cape trailed behind me like a lightning bug's bioluminescent trail while Raven began her mantra.

"Azarath…"

I closed in and prepared to envelop her.

"Metrion…"

I started to wrap myself around her and began the teleportation phase. I didn't have any particular destination in mind seeing as how we were trapped in nothingness, but I had home in my concentration the entire time.

"ZINTHOS!"

Raven's black magic once again reacted to my teleportation and I felt the power building up on itself. The void's thunderclouds began to recede and I could tell we were dimension shifting again. As everything began to fade around us, I noticed Raven's eyes were beginning to close and she appeared to become limp. She was losing consciousness. I desperately fought through the magic blast to make my way to her but the closer I got, the weaker I became. Eventually I also lost all consciousness.

…

When I came to, I felt awful. My body was all cramped up and I was completely drained of energy. I tried to move but it wasn't easy considering I was holding someone in my arms.

'Raven…'

I could barely process what had happened. The feedback loop must have taken its toll on us. As I became more aware of our current circumstances, I could tell something was off about the titan. She was cold, and still unconscious.

'Hey, wake up!'

I shook her gently go try to snap her out of it. The last thing I wanted was a grouchy titan on my ass again. But she still remained unresponsive. This was not good. I placed her on her back and put my ear to her chest. There was a faint thump, but it was very weak. Not to mention… she wasn't breathing. Was she? Her heart was working but she wasn't breathing… that makes total sense.

'Dammit…'

I took off her cape, unzipped the back of her outfit and pulled it down, and positioned her airway for receiving CPR. Turns out you do learn a thing or two in health class other than practicing "safe sex". I started to do chest compressions, but her bra kept getting in the way. I didn't want the wire to dig into her flesh either which left me with one option.

'She's going to kill me.'

I undid her bra leaving her top half completely exposed. Her breasts were perky. They were a fair size and her gray skin gave them an appealing ambiance. I blushed and shook my head. This was no time to be a pervert. I then continued with the compressions.

'Sixteen…Twenty-two…Twenty-eight.'

I placed my mouth over her own and gave her two rescue breaths.

'One, two.'

I backed up a little bit and saw that her chest was still not moving. Again, I attempted to revive her.

'Sixteen…Twenty-two…Thirty. One, two.'

Again, there was no response. What is going on? She wasn't dead due to her having a heartbeat. But she wasn't breathing. I was so confused. I put my head on her bare chest and listened again just to be sure her heart was still pounding. It was, but she still wasn't breathing.

'I don't understand this…' I lifted my head from where it rested and positioned my hands on her chest for a third attempt to revive her. I was startled to find out that Raven was NOW fully conscious and was staring at me in horror. She looked over to where her bra was, and then looked to find me with both hands on her fully exposed bosom. Her face turned redder than the pepperoni at my favorite pizza joint back in Jump City.

She took her legs, put one on my either side and flipped me over to the ground so that I was face down. She then wrapped the rest of herself around me and held my arms in a hold. This was the thanks I got for trying to save her life?

"What, in Trigon's name, do you think you are doing?" She asked trying to muster up as much bravado as she could in her voice.

She pressed my arms against my back up high, so high, I thought she was going to dislocate them.

"Talk!" She practically shouted.

The pain was so intense it was hard to compose a concise sentence.

'Woke up… you weren't breathing… faint heart beat… CPR.'

After a couple seconds, I felt her hold on me loosen. Blood was circulating to my arms once again.

"You're an idiot."

She let go of me completely and gathered her assets whilst covering her breasts with one arm. She then proceeded to get redressed.

"Peek, and you'll end up with a black eye." She threatened.

Out of courtesy I complied with her "request" but I didn't see how that made a difference. After all I've seen her almost completely naked anyway.

When she was done redressing she gave me a scowl.

'Now what?'

"When we managed to reproduce the feedback loop, my powers were completely drained, more than usual. That mixed with the blast no doubt left my body fragile. When my body is compromised, I sometimes slip into a healing trance that speeds up recovery. During it, my body appears to not be breathing, but I am. Very shallow, unnoticeable breaths. You recall my heart was still beating was it not? So OBVIOUSLY, I wasn't dead."

She looked at me like I was a dumbass. Her scolding tone was no help either. Next time she appears to be dead, I will probably just leave her there. But I went through the trouble to revive her. A titan! And she lectures me on how she was fine all along. How was I supposed to know that was a healing trance, coma, whatever? I walked up to her so that my face was inches from hers.

'You're welcome.'

After my sarcastic remark she didn't death glare me anymore. I could tell she was finally seeing things from my point of view. There was no way I could have known she was in a healing trance.

"Whatever." She responded coldly.

With that very awkward situation behind us, we finally managed to process where we were. It appeared our attempt to reproduce the feedback loop was successful seeing as we were no longer in the void. However, our new environment wasn't anything to be thankful for either. The atmosphere around us was red as blood and constantly shifting, almost like we were in Van Gough painting. Floating land masses were spread out through this dimension that were a couple shades darker than the sky. It looked as if Mars had exploded.

But the major thing that caught our attention were the gateways that could get us home. In the sky, across the horizon, and beneath current standing were what appeared to be portals. Doorways into other worlds, dimensions, and realities. It was actually kind of beautiful to look at.

'I think we found out how we are getting back home.'

Raven nodded and looked as relieved as I did. All we had to do was find the right portal that connected to our Earth, our dimension. Hopefully it was nearby. But as luck would have it, it would be awhile before we stumbled onto a portal that led to a world even remotely like ours.

I flew off the landmass we were currently on and Raven closely followed.

'Let the search begin.'


	4. The Bleed: Dimension Roulette

**CH4: Dimension Roulette**

Raven and I have been searching this bloody dimension for a good couple of hours. We encountered many portals into alternate worlds but none of them were ours. Some led to an alternate version of our earth while others led to different planets altogether. It was like walking through a house of mirrors at a carnival. Only this "house" had endless floors of them. And the experience was definitely NOT fun.

We arrived at the top of the floating mass we were currently on and the view before us was mesmerizing. As far as the eye could see, in every direction, were hundreds, if not thousands of portals we haven't checked out yet. Our attempt to find the one that would take us home seemed futile. Raven looked distraught about our situation so I decided to lighten the mood a bit.

'So… if we can't find our portal… and we are stuck here for eternity… how long would it take for me to win you over?'

She turned her head slowly towards me and gave me a distasteful look.

"What did you just say?"

'I'm just saying… we're the only two living beings here. Figured if worse comes to worse, we could just…'

"Stop. Let me just save you the trouble of wasting your breath. It will be a cold day in hell before I ever sleep with you."

'I wasn't talking about that specifically…'

"And another thing, I would rather take my chances in the dimension where earth was wiped out due to nuclear war, than to be stuck with you here for eternity. There are thousands of other realities here, each giving me the chance to escape solidarity with you. So, if we don't find our portal back to our earth, I will gladly jump into another one before I hook up with you."

'A simple no would have sufficed…'

"You're a villain. Back on earth, you're trying to ambush titans and take over the world. I'd sleep with beast boy before you."

'Wow... No need to be that rude." I chuckled whilst rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. "Even I can't be THAT bad an option to sleep with compared to gruesome greensome.'

"Whatever, let's just get out of here."

Raven jumped down from our vantage point and descended onto another land mass while I followed close behind. The area was more jagged than the last one we explored and much bigger. Cliffs and rock formations formed the terrain and the eerie silence made it seem like something from the Alien movies. As we started making our way to a clearing she suddenly stopped and held her arm out to keep me from progressing.

'What's wrong?'

"Shut up." She stared intensely at some rock formations and after a couple seconds she broke the silence.

"We are not alone."

She said it with such bravado and a serious face, I had to try my hardest not to burst into laughter.

"Wow," I chuckled, "Good one. A bunch of rocks, how scary…'

(Rumble)

The smirk on my face was wiped clean off when I saw part of the rock formation flying through the air heading straight towards us.

'Oh Shit!'

I wrapped my cape around us both and teleported to a nearby ledge.

'The hell was that?'

"Look!"

Below in the valley we saw a reptilian creature whose height was at least twice that of a full-grown male. Its body was ghost like. I could see right through him, but at the same time see his tangible features like a phantom. It had claws that were very long, and its fangs were not friendly looking either. It was beastly, and incredibly strong.

'The fuck is that?' I exclaimed.

"I don't know. But it's after us for some reason."

'Really? Tell me something I don't know!'

The beast picked up another boulder and hurled it at us. This time Raven set up a protective barrier with her magic and the boulder shattered into multiple pieces when it hit. We then looked in horror as the reptilian beast headed in our direction, at very inhuman speed. This thing was not as fast as Kid Flash, but it was fast enough to give us trouble.

In a matter of seconds, the beast was pounding on Raven's shield.

"I can't keep this up much longer. Brace yourself."

I nodded and understood what she was getting ready to do. She discharged her shield propelling the beast back a couple meters and then I proceeded to teleport at the base of his heels. With my cape I slashed at them tearing apart both of his Achilles' Tendons bringing him down to the ground. I teleported back to where Raven was and we both realized this was far from over.

We watched curiously as his tendons started to regenerate and in moments the beast was back on its feet running towards us.

"Any other bright ideas?" Raven did not look impressed.

'Oh, like that discharge blast of yours did anything. At least I physically wounded it. You just pissed it off!'

Raven rolled her eyes and lightly moved me aside. Her eyes glowed white and she began her signature mantra.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Black magic enveloped the beast and in a split moment it was launched off the ledge we were on. We hovered over to get a bird's eye view of the lizard pancake that was about to form below, eagerly hoping that it would die from this height.

What happened next startled us. Instead of it splattering all over the rock, it phased right through the ground like a ghost.

'How the heck…'

"I don't know, but we need to get out of here before it comes back."

I was the first to turn and behind Raven was the lizard beast that we had sent over the cliff just moments ago. In a flash, I shoved Raven aside and let the beast's strike go right in between us, slicing off a good piece of Raven's cape. The beast quickly doubled back with its monstrous appendage and backhanded me off the cliff. The hit took the breath right out of me but I managed to get my bearings and teleport back up top. I watched helplessly as I saw Raven block the beast's first swipe with its right arm with her magic, only to get cut up by the one coming in from the left.

"Aaahhhgrhhhh!"

'Goddammit… Raven!'

The beast looked right at me and jumped strategically. I didn't understand how something that big could get that much height. I teleported behind it as he was moving midair in one direction and altered his course; down. I flipped and brought my foot down on its back and sent it crashing into the ground below. Guess it only goes intangible when it has enough time to react. I flew to where Raven was and saw that her side and stomach had been gashed.

'Damn, that's not good.'

I got up to face the beast and saw that it was a glutton for punishment. It charged in an attempt to ram me head on and smash me against the rocks behind me. I dodged and counterattacked by slicing into its backside. It didn't like that. The beast screamed in pain and paced as its wound started to heal. It looked pissed. I didn't have time for this. Raven was bleeding out and every second I spent fighting this beast meant that it was one less second she had.

I teleported right in front of the beast and sent a crushing blow to its abdomen. It released a blood curling screech. It was unbearable to hear. While it was suffering, I teleported right above him and got ready for my final attack.

'Better make this count.'

In one swift motion, I sliced the creature at the base of its neck with my cape. It went completely through. I landed and turned in time to see the creature's head fall off its body and onto the ground. That fight lasted longer than it should have.

I hurried over to where Raven was and saw the small puddle of blood that was forming due to her injury. I didn't think the wound was that deep. Even so, the cut alone wouldn't kill her. But if I didn't stop the bleeding soon, she would be in trouble. I wrapped the piece of her cape that was cut off around the gash and then picked her up bridal style. I began to assess our getaway path when I saw another reptilian beast making its way up to our position. I teleported myself and Raven to the opposite edge of the floating land mass and was startled to find yet another beast off to the side of the valley.

'Two more?'

I scanned the surroundings and realized that the floating land masses all had at least one of these beasts on them.

'Holy…Shit.' The screech emitted by the creature must have drawn in re-enforcements.

I teleported like crazy from one land mass to the next. It took at least eight jumps before we made it to an island that appeared to not have the beasts on it. But the distance I had managed to put between us and them would not be enough. I needed to put even more between us.

Sixteen, twenty-two.

After about thirty jumps I decided to make myself and Raven's new temporary home in a landmass of unusual shape. I looked like a segmented sphere that was crumbling apart due to deterioration but was very abundant in caves. I headed for one whose entrance wasn't too big so that the beasts would have to phase through the entire chasm if they wanted to get to us. I treaded deeper into the cave with the titan in my arms and finally made it to the end. It was very spacious and had a nice flat area where I could lay Raven down and look her over.

I needed to work fast. If I couldn't stop the bleeding, I would be searching for the portal to home by myself.


	5. The Bleed: The Ties That Form

**CH5: The Ties That Form**

I removed Raven's cape to see if the wound had sealed up. As luck would have it, it didn't. To make matters worse, the "gash" that she had on her side turned out to be four. Of course, how could I have been so dumb. The reptilian beast was humanoid after all. Meaning four fingers, one thumb. It was fortunate for both of us that the thumb didn't add a fifth cut.

I couldn't work with her torn outfit on. So, I decided to remove it. At least the top part of her one piece.

'I swear if she wakes up and tells me she was in a healing trance again…'

Thankfully, I didn't need to remove her bra although I wouldn't have complained if that was the case. I took her cape which had semi dried blood on it and tore it into strips. I carefully inserted a strip into each cut to use as a clotting agent and repeated the process until the bleeding was under control. I then took the remainder of her cape and wrapped it around her waist to keep a tight seal on the wounds.

I placed my head on her chest to make sure she was still breathing. From what I could tell, she was, "very lightly." Also, her heart was still beating so that was a good sign.

Now all I could do was sit back and wait.

…

I must have dozed off for a bit. After all, killing overgrown lizards really does take it out of you. I was woken up by the unholy groan of none other than the fellow titan I was taking care of. I hurried next to her to see if she was alright.

'Raven?'

She opened her eyes and was greeted by my beautiful self. I was a little irked when she rolled her eyes and attempted to roll over to avoid facing me. I however placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to keep her still.

'That's two you owe me.'

What appeared to be a humorous smirk quickly faded when she cringed in pain.

"How bad is it."

'I managed to stop the bleeding. But those cuts are deep. I suggest you remain immobile for at least the rest of the day.

"The longer I'm stuck here, the longer I have to be with you."

'Really? That's your concern right now? You could have died if it weren't for me.'

"Again, let me remind you, had you not hunted me down with Psimon and attempted to kidnap me, we would not even be here. Therefore, I wouldn't be half dead right now."

'You clearly have enough energy to keep arguing with me.'

"When I'm right, I'm right."

I tossed the leftover ribbons of her cape at her face to annoy her. She gave me a look of distaste when she pried the fabric off her and eventually laid back down.

'Why don't you slip into that healing coma,'

"Trance."

'Whatever. Healing trance and recover. I need you at full strength when we go back out there because there are hundreds of those things.'

"Terrific."

Raven folded the thick remaining strips into a makeshift pillow and started to dose off.

I decided to go out and have a look at our new surroundings. I had made it here in such a hurry that I didn't really get to see the terrain that surrounded us. I scouted out the area outside the cave we were in and after deciding it was safe to go out, I did. I flew to a floating rock and perched myself on it as I marveled at the rings of crushed stone and boulders that orbited this strange spherical planetoid.

I didn't see any of our reptilian friends. I probably lost them. After all, I did teleport strategically so as to evade their line of sight as I jumped from location to location. I went up even higher to rise above the debris to get a clear view of our surroundings. Amidst all the floating rocks and blood red atmosphere, one thing stood out above all else. I couldn't believe what I was looking at.

From what I could tell it was a no less than a mile away. The floating structure looked like a city. The size was massive and the infrastructure looked like the land masses around us fused with technology. It looked like a spaceship of some sort. No, a space carrier. That think looked like it could transport a whole city to whatever destination they wanted.

Then a genius idea popped into my head. What if this flying carrier was a tour bus for this dimension so to speak. Maybe it could take you where you wanted to go. Including the portal that could take us home. If that was the case, I had to act fast. The carrier was clearly moving slowly but surely. If I lost sight of it in this void, I doubt I could find it again.

I rushed back down into the cave where I last left Raven. This could be our only sure way out of here. I saw her peacefully sleeping on the cave floor. I hated to wake her up, but this was important.

'Hey, you!'

She mumbled something about dumb villains and turned over into a more comfortable position.

'Fine, be that way.'

Without hesitation, I picked up a half undressed Raven off the ground and flew us both out of the cave. She was still asleep. I couldn't believe it. I shook her roughly, yelled at her telepathically, and even dropped her to see if the falling sensation would snap her out of it.

The last one worked.

She woke up immediately and started to panic. I however opened a portal beneath her to that she would plop back into my arms with minor turbulance. I then proceeded to teleport us both in the direction of the carrier.

"What are you doing?"

I ignored her. I wanted to make sure we were close enough to the carrier so that I could find the best point of entry. Sure, I could probably teleport inside of it, but I had no idea what waited for us in the interior.

Raven stopped fusing and saw exactly what I was heading towards. She looked at it in disbelief.

"What is it?"

'If I'm right, our way out of here.'

We flew alongside the carrier for a couple minutes until we found what appeared to be an airlock. This thing really was a spaceship of some kind. I looked at Raven to see if she was going to make me do all of the work. I guess she got the message. Her eyes turned white and she timed out for a couple seconds.

"I don't sense anyone on the other side of this door."

'That's all you probed for?'

"You want to probe a ship the size of a city in my condition? Be my guest."

She had a point. Really the reason I asked is because if there was opposition in this ship, I would have to be mindful of the titan. I couldn't risk taking on an army while she was so vulnerable. So better to be safe than sorry. I used my powers to open a portal in the air lock. Me and Raven passed right through and were in some sort of pressure chamber. Raven gave me this dirty look telling me to put her down and I happily obliged. She quickly pulled the rest of her costume over her chest and zipped up the back. I opened another portal so that we could pass through the second door, I peeked my head out to get a good view of our surroundings. The hallways were empty and from what I could tell, we were alone. It didn't seem like there was power on this level either which means that more than likely this floor was completely abandoned.

We both entered the hallway with our guard up. After exploring a couple corridors, bunkers, and mess halls, we caught up with current events.

'How are you feeling?'

She stared at me suspiciously before she answered.

"The healing trance helped a lot. I no longer needed the fabric in my wounds to stop the bleeding so while you were gone I pulled them out carefully."

'That's good.'

"I'm amazed you found this place. Where you out scouting while I was in my trance?"

'Yea. Saw this monstrosity not too far away. But it was moving away from our location so I had to move fast to intercept it. That's why I got you in such a rush. Figured this is the "tour bus" of the place. If we make it to the control room, I'm sure we can figure out where our portal is. And if it doesn't help us find it, least we can keep looking for it without exhausting ourselves flying all the time.'

"Smart. But how do you expect to fly this thing?"

'With your help.'

Raven was taken aback and a small smirk overcame her face.

'Ahem… I figured we should be stealthy while on our way to the control center but once we're there, we should capture one of the people manning this carrier. You can then probe his mind and find out how to use the controls. And then we are on our way home.'

"Oohkay. But if we do run into the crew, what's to stop them from killing us. I mean, it's two of us versus all of them."

'Maybe we can capture someone higher up in the rank chain. He should keep the lower ranking soldiers at bay while we make heads or tails of things.'

Raven didn't look entirely on board with the plan. She had a point after all. If we failed to get any leverage on an entire crew, we would be sitting ducks. Sure, I could hold them off for a bit, I'm sure Raven could too, but there is strength in numbers. And there were only two of us.

'In any case, we can't just do nothing. So without further ado, let's do this.'

Raven and I ventured into the corridors of the Carrier, unsure of what awaited us.


	6. The Bleed: Dead Carrier

**CH6: Dead Carrier**

Raven and I had explored at least 3 sections of the carrier before finding anything useful. The first thing we found was a kitchen with all kinds of weird foods. We filled our stomachs with whatever looked edible before we continued our quest for the control center. The second thing we found was a schematic of the carrier. It was frozen on a flickering monitor that appeared to have seen better days. After a couple minutes of looking it over, we knew exactly where the control room was and started to make our way down there via the shortest route available.

The further we ventured, the more machinery seemed to be offline, broken even. As if someone made their way through the halls slicing through every piece of metal they could get their hands on. On the walls were dried blood stains and clutter seemed to be all over the place. I wonder what happened here. Suddenly Raven decided to break the silence.

"Why are you guys trying to take over the world anyway?"

'Really? We are literally walking through a hallway out of a horror movie and that's your question?'

She just stared at me as we trudged on.

I thought about it for a second. Seriously, here we were exploring an alien ship and she's worried about our plan back on earth?

'Guess we decided to go big.'

"Yea but why team up with the Brotherhood? Those guys are evil. The Hive Five commits robberies, and do what they want kind of thing. But the Brotherhood actually plays for keeps."

'I know they do. That's why we joined them. It was more of an invitation on their part. It was always Jinx's dream to be a part of their organization. Ironically, she left before we could tell her we were invited to join. Besides, a world without Titans is a world where we can operate in peace.'

"You do realize there are other factions of heroes you would have to deal with, right? Robin's dad the bat, and the big S. And they both have their own team who would take you guys down."

'The brain has a plan for everything. He also has his own big bad allies. I'm sure once we put all of you titans on ice, he will devise a way to keep them out of our hair, or nullify them altogether.'

"On ice?" Raven looked at me inquisitively.

'You'll find out once we get back to our dimension.'

"Yea, about that…"

Raven grabbed my hand which stopped me in my tracks. I turned to look at her before she let go and crossed her arms.

"What happens when we do make it back? I mean, in the time I've known you, you haven't been very villainous."

'We have a mutual interest. We both want out of this place. It's simple really. I help you, you help me.'

"Is that really it?"

As far as I knew. Truth was I didn't know how to feel towards her.

"Weren't you the one who was all too eager to hook up if we failed to find our way back home?" She asked teasingly.

She had a point. But that was just me being flirtatious. I didn't actually like her…much. Even if I wanted anything, she was a hero, and I was a villain. It wouldn't work out. I resumed walking down the hallway with Raven not far behind.

'Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden? I'm a villain, you're a hero. We're enemies. Always will be. End of story.'

"You fought pretty hard against our lizard friend to make sure your enemy stayed in one piece."

'Whatever.'

"Think about it. I think there is room for change in your life. Most villains would have seen me as dead weight once I was injured. But you risked your life to get me out of that situation."

'I would like to think that most of the Hive would have done the same. We may be villains, but we don't murder or turn our back on someone who is in trouble. I remember one time during a heist near the park, Billy sidetracked and beat up a teenager because he was bullying a little girl. Even villains have morals.'

"Still, teleporting with an extra person must have really taken it out of you."

'Honestly it's not that much harder.'

Raven could tell I was getting annoyed. The awkward conversation came to an end once we rounded the next corner. We saw a massive door about 3 sizes larger than the airlock we came through previously, and twice as big as the other doors we have passed through on our way here. But something felt off. I instinctively grabbed Raven's hand as I began to open a portal so that we may pass through the door. I looked at Raven whose eyes were reverting back to their normal state from glowing white.

"There is something on the other side of this door."

I nodded and proceeded to head through the portal with Raven in tow. We emerged on the other side battle ready expecting some kind of a fight to break out. What we saw next horrified us. It was a corpse. Its head had been completely severed from its body. It had gashes across its chest. We saw it's left arm possessed something resembling that of a rifle. Whatever did this to him, he went down fighting.

I looked behind me and was surprised to see the door we had just come out of, was barricaded heavily on this side. You could tell that someone tried to weld the door shut. There were welding irons on the floor and well as a ton of debris stacked on top of each other to block the doorway.

"Kyd…"

Raven grabbed my arm and coddled it, like it was a security blanket. What was she afraid of? I looked to where her gaze was and wish I hadn't.

Certain walls were splattered with blood and under the splatters were bodies. Lots of them. I counted at least twelve. Some corpses were missing limbs, others had only the top or bottom remaining. One thing was consistent amongst all of them though, the cuts. They were deep. This all made sense. The floors which we had gone through that seemed abandoned and cut off from the rest of the ship were quarantine zones. Whatever these… soldiers, were running from, they invaded those floors first. That's why the hallways had scrapes all over them and had splatters of blood dried all along them.

'The lizards…'

"That's what they were running from. That must be why they barricaded the door. To keep them out."

'Imagine their surprise when they found out they could phase through matter. Cost them their lives.'

I looked around and saw a terminal that was still functional.

'Here, we need to check this out.'

Raven hovered over me as I messed around with the controls. The interface was surprisingly easier to use than I thought it was going to be.

"What are you looking for?"

'Information.'

I clicked on files, folders, and subfolders. I must have been looking for awhile because Raven made herself comfortable on the chair next to me.

'Here we go.'

I clicked on a file with the preview image looking just like the lizards we encountered back at the planetoids.

" _Daemonites"_ it read.

"Guess that's what they are called."

'Strange name.'

Raven and I spent a good while looking over information on this race. We read up on their abilities, attack patterns, and their overall physiology.

"The information seems to be incomplete."

'My guess is that whoever composed this much was doing so while they were under siege. Either that or they were studying them before they became aggressive. Pretty impressive work considering whoever compiled this data was nearing the end of his career.'

Raven gave me a dirty look.

'What? It's true.'

She rolled her eyes and started to make her way up the stairs which led to yet another door. This one unlike the others we have encountered, was open.

"This must be where they failed to contain them."

'They could have locked down the entire carrier and it wouldn't have mattered. After all, they can just phase right through.'

"True. Which way was is it to the control room again?"

'The schematic said it was this way…'

I rounded the corner and immediately wish we had gone a different route.

'Shit…'

Down the hall was a ghastly Daemonite wandering the length of the corridor.

"Go back!" Raven exclaimed.

'Too late.'

Me and Raven braced ourselves as the Daemonite took notice of our presence and started running towards us.


	7. The Bleed: I The Mighty

**CH7: I The Mighty**

The Daemonite was quick. I had just enough time to wrap Raven in my cape and teleport to the opposite side of the corridor.

When we came out of the jump we hauled ass towards the control center. We didn't even bother to look behind us. We knew the Daemonite was going to catch up eventually.

"Are we seriously going to try to outrun it?"

'Until we get to a vantage point. The schematic showed that there is a wall up ahead. It's several meters thick but if you can phase us through, we will end up in the control center.'

"Why do I have to phase us through? You've been doing it since we got here."

I gave her a dead cold scowl. To think she would be starting an argument with me now.

'BECAUSE! As skilled as you are in combat with your magic, I have, oh I don't know, a hunch, that facing this beast head on is more up my alley. After all, hand to hand combat is my specialty. I'll hold him back while you do your thing.'

She looked at me with some doubt. The truth was that I didn't want her to get hurt again. But I couldn't just flat out say it.

"Why don't we just keep going through the halls?"

This girl was unbelievable.

'We could if we were as fast as Kid Flash. That thing is gaining on us and we don't have time to run through seven more hallways. Now do it!'

We approached the wall and Raven began to focus on her mantra. I stood with her back to back as I scouted the corridor for our scaly friend.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos"

Her black aura enveloped most of the wall while I kept waiting on the Daemonite to show up. Where did it go?

"Come on!"

I jumped into the wall with Raven and after a mini marathon we emerged on the other side. That was a THICK wall.

We caught our breaths and scanned the massive room for threats. This was the central hub from the looks of it. The room was massive and contained multiple entrance points all around the circumference. We were on a ledge looking down into what appeared to be a multiple story fall should we slip off. Hovering over the center of the room was what looked like the central terminal. There were several ways to get to it including stairs, straightaway ramps, and a direct access tube right overhead.

We made a beeline for it. No telling how long till the Daemonite showed up again.

We situated ourselves at the terminal and were grateful for familiar controls. Once activated, a holographic display appeared before us like those ultrathin flatscreen tv's they have at the mall. Only this was in full blown 3D.

"Hope your speculation pays off."

'Me too.'

I began searching the database the way Billy searched for porn on a late Friday evening at the Hive base; lightning fast. There were diagnostics, crew rosters, and finally, maps. Several eerie dimensions popped up on the screen but obviously we went with the one we were stuck in.

" _The Bleed."_

'That name definitely fits this place to a T.'

A schematic popped up, and it was massive. It was like an excel spreadsheet, no matter how far you scrolled, it seemed endless. Every portal seemed to lead to a different dimension, a different earth. And every portal was in a different location.

"How do we know which zone our portal is? Or for that matter, what SIDE of the freaking dimension it's in?"

'These portals seem to be categorized somehow. There is a pattern here, we just have to figure out what it is.'

I looked at the interface and noticed a familiar icon on the upper right-hand corner. A magnifying glass. Any novice knows that that was a search button.

'Or we could just search for our earth directly.'

I typed into the search bar "Earth." But like most things in life, this was not a problem a simple Google search would solve. The machine found Earth alright, all fifty two of them, scattered throughout the regions of The Bleed.

'Crap. We don't have time to check out all of these portals.'

"What's that in the upper right-hand corner? Under the first magnifying glass?"

To my surprise it looked like another magnifying glass with a 'plus' symbol in it.

'I think it's a filter.'

"A what?"

I looked at her dumbfounded.

'Do you not know what a filter does?'

"Of course, I do. I have one that I use to purify my water for my herbal tea."

This girl Raven, was gorgeous, but had the brain capacity of Mammoth.

'The CYBER filter will allow us to search for our dimension by inputting specifications to what is in it... in theory. For example, if I type in 'Superman', our Earth should be the one to pop up.'

I typed in "Superman" and to my utter annoyance, 33 results popped up.

'Wow. That's a lot of men of steel.'

"How specific can you get with the search?"

I saw yet another magnifying glass appear beneath the second one.

'I assume you can be as specific as you want, but if no dimension has any of the criteria you put in, no results will pop up. We should probably start the search over and experiment for a bit.'

"Unfortunately, we may not have time for that. Look."

Raven and I saw several Daemonites walk into the control center. One came out of the wall we phased through. I assume it's the one we barely managed to ditch earlier. The other one came from the southwest entrance below us.

'You stay here and find our earth. I'll hold them off.'

"Sure. Let me just stay here and work on an alien computer which I have no idea how to use."

'Dude… it's not that hard. I bet even your green teammate could figure out how to use it. Now get to work!'

I teleported to the floor which the second Daemonite was on. It just stared at me almost like it was waiting for something. As if on cue, the one which tailed us in the corridor jumped down from its ledge to join our party and positioned himself directly behind me. I was caught right in the middle of two super-fast reptilians.

'Bring it on.' I took my battle stance ready to either slash with my cape or teleport. The Daemonites made the first move. They both raced towards me at the same time. I warped off to the side expecting them to collide with each other like something you would see on a Saturday morning kid's cartoon. Unfortunately, they both turned on a whim and again headed right for me. It was like a choreographed performance. Both ran in perfect sync with the other, almost as if they could read each other's movements before they happened. I ran towards them cape in hand, teleported behind, and managed to slice at both of their Achilles tendons. They landed on the ground.

I teleported overhead and managed to slice off the first one's head. The second one however, recovered very quickly and was soon back on his feet. He swiped at me with his claws but I managed to keep out of reach. I warped behind him and sliced his upper back. He sprinted towards the wall, jumped onto it, and launched himself from it directly at me. I wasn't ready for it. Its head collided right with my abdominal muscles. I got off easy. At least it didn't launch himself claws first. The impact sent me into a nearby pillar. There were a lot of them around, all holding up the walkways that led to the terminal Raven was at.

'You bastard.' I recovered and ran towards the Daemonite and opened a portal underneath it. It fell in nice and easy and reappeared from the ceiling and was now plummeting down to the ground. I leapt into the air and swift kicked him as he intersected my projected course. He hit the ground, bounced across the floor, and collided with a pillar.

I then teleported next to him before he managed to recover and severed its head from its body with my cape. That was exhausting. Hopefully Raven managed to find our earth in the time I took care of these Daemonites.

I teleported back to where Raven was.

'Did you find it?'

She almost jumped out of her chair. "Gah, what the… Don't do that!"

Raven had multiple filters on and still had about ten earths to choose from.

"This is as narrow as I was able to make it concerning specs from our earth and still, about ten results show up."

'Well, have you tried looking up one person, and being pinpoint specific with their traits? That's something you could try.'

I could see the gears grinding in Ravens pretty little head. I could tell she was getting frustrated.

'Hey.'

She looked up at me confused. This was awkward. I didn't quite know what to do. What was going to be a really weird side hug, ended up being an even more awkward pat on the back.

'You're doing fine. Want me to take over for a…'

Just then we head a gnarly screech that echoed throughout the control room. Or at least I thought it was an echo. Me and Raven found ourselves surrounded by at least a dozen Daemonites. They must be the reinforcements.

'Never mind. Keep doing what you're doing and I'll hold them off.'

"What? No way! There are too many of them. You'll get killed!"

'Oh please, with my teleportation powers, I stand a better chance of beating them than with you getting in my way.'

She narrowed her eyes at me. She almost looked offended but I could tell she could see through my façade.

"Don't act so high and mighty. You need me."

I sighed and got real with her. Might as well since I very well could die soon.

'I just… don't want you to get hurt.'

She looked at me inquisitively and raised an eyebrow.

'I wish things were different. But if any one of us should go back home, it's you. After all, the world could do with one less villain, right?'

She got extremely close to me. Our noses were centimeters apart.

"You don't know what you're saying."

'Don't I?'

I wasn't a creep so I aimed for her forehead when I kissed her. She was blushing but didn't look all that surprised. What she did next DID surprised ME. She grabbed me by my cowl and forced my lips onto hers. It was quite nice actually. No tongues, just a passionate kiss. I know she never would have done this had our lives not been in danger like they were currently. She let go and pulled back, her face even redder than it was earlier.

"If we make it, promise you'll at least consider my offer."

I thought about all of my friends. Gizmo, Mammoth, Jinx, Seymore, Billy… could I ever leave them? I turned around and walked towards the fight of my life.

'Hurry and find our earth. I doubt I can hold them off for long.'

I jumped from the balcony and headed straight towards the Daemonites.


	8. The Bleed: Where Do We Go From Here

**CH8: Where Do We Go From Here**

As I glided down with my cape fully opened, I homed in on the Daemonite in the middle. It was an easy target after all. I returned my cape to normal state and my fall speed increased. I swiped at the lizard like creature and cut its head from its body. That was easy… too easy.

As I looked around I saw that none of the other Daemonites were around.

'Dafuq… where did they go?'

Then at ground level I saw multiple bodies phasing through the ground. The one right in front of me tried to uppercut me with its claws, but I managed to evade the attack. I was unlucky enough however, to be hit with its tail once I was out of arms reach. I went flying and skid across the floor a bit. I barely managed to register what had happened when I saw another Daemonite towering over me, bringing its claws down. I rolled off to the side and kicked its leg throwing him of balance. I then got back on my feet and began slicing away at its flesh. Cut after cut it still wouldn't go down completely. I teleported behind it and finally severed its head from the torso.

'Two down, about nine to go.'

(BAM)

I was careless. I found myself against the wall having just received a blow to the chest. The Daemonite on the left lunged at me but I warped out of harm's way and next to the one near the pillar.

(SLICE)

'Eight to go.'

I then gave my attention to the one which had lunged at me earlier and opened a portal under it. I made it reappear in front of me just in time for it to take a full brunt impalement from yet another Daemonite. With the two now lodged together via its limb in the others chest, I severed both their heads on the spot.

I killed off another Daemonite, and another, and one more after that. I finally managed to kill off the last remaining Daemonites. What a pain in the ass. I laid out on the floor like a bearskin rug and tried to catch my breath. I was exhausted. My chest still hurt from the blow I took earlier, and my limbs were sore from all the slicing and dicing I did.

I then heard a gruesome sound emit from behind me. I sat up and saw under the archway near the terminal was another Daemonite. Except this one looked different. He was completely tangible and you could see every aspect of its body clearly. It was massive, bigger than the ones we've encountered before. It had four arms and blood red eyes. The teeth looked like they could take a bite out of titanium and its tail had a sharp barb at the end of it like a scorpion. Was it a different species? And why was it just observing me?

I rose to my feet and got into my battle stance. I felt like I was in a video game, having cleared the underlings and made my way to the boss.

(Smack)

I was backhanded by the Daemonite boss and flew back against a wall hard like a bug colliding with a windshield of a freeway. My insides felt like jelly and I could barely contemplate what just happened. I didn't have time to react however, since the Daemonite was speeding towards me.

I teleported behind him for a sneak attack but as I came out of warp his tail swiped and pinned me against the wall I had left a crater in from his earlier attack. I expected it to kill me on the spot since its claws were well within my range. But again, it just stared at me.

I concentrated and opened a portal under it and was relieved when he fell in, freeing me from being pinned against the wall by its tail. I teleported next to one of the pillars and slashed at the base to make it fall towards the center of the room, right on top of where the Daemonite boss came out of warp.

(Crash)

It was a direct hit, or so I thought. The aim was spot on, but unfortunately for me the Daemonite phased out of the marble pillar without a scratch on it. I was on high alert when I saw him sink beneath the flooring with its phasing abilities, wondering where it was going to pop up from. It emerged behind me and took another swipe at me with its tail which I countered with my cape, slicing its end off. It backed off by a couple feet looking surprised, as if I wasn't capable of putting up a fight. Seconds went by, and its tail was fully regenerated. This Daemonite was definitely in a league of its own. Its regeneration was faster, it was certainly smarter, and it appeared to have experienced battle before.

The fight kept progressing and my stamina was draining. I was running on fumes and was hoping Raven was nearly done with locating our earth on the terminal. I then heard the intercom on the carrier give a ship wide alert in a different language. I had no idea what it said but all of a sudden, the carrier shifted and I lost my footing as it tilted sideways like a ship on water making an airtight turn on a whim.

The Daemonite boss was also caught off guard and he slammed against the wall with such an adjustment in angle. He was vulnerable and now was my chance. I allowed myself to fall in his direction allowing the fall speed to propel me straight at his chest.

(BAM)

The wall broke and I found myself in yet another room Daemonite in tow. I jumped back and saw him continue to fall hitting multiple things like a pinball on his way down. The carrier then leveled out and the angle of the floor was back to normal. I assumed Raven found out how to navigate with the controls and set course for our earth portal.

I teleported next to the Daemonite and sliced off its Achilles tendon. I then took my capes razor edge and attempted to slice off its head like the rest. It wasn't a clean cut. My blade made it through less than a third of its neck before it stopped mid decapitation. This one's armor was tougher to pierce than the others.

Surprised, I backed off and tried to teleport to a safer vantage point.

(Whack)

That stupid tail! The impact knocked the wind out of me and after rolling on the floor for a bit I came to a stop next to a generator of some kind. I could not move. My stamina was out, and I was all but capable of teleporting to safety at this point. In a heartbeat the Daemonite was towering over me. It appeared to have had enough of our little squabble. It raised its appendage claws and swiped down. I waited for my flesh to be shredded but instead I heard the sound of a familiar mantra being completed followed by the sound of walls crumbling.

"ZINTHOS!"

(CRASH)

I opened my eyes and saw Raven standing offset to where the Daemonite had just been. On my right side was a massive hole I assume she launched our reptilian friend through. And the holes continued for several rooms. I found it a bit humorous, after all, that is the type of thing one would see in a Buggs Bunny cartoon; layer after layer imprinted with the same silhouette of one gnarly lizard.

She looked down at me with pity in her eyes and helped me up. I was so sore I expected to feel this discomfort for the next week.

"You're an idiot." She said coldly as she helped me walk out of the room and back to the control center.

'When someone covers their ass against more than a dozen adversaries, one would typically say thank you.' I responded sarcastically.

I saw a hint of a smirk appear on her beautiful face before I realized we were levitating off the ground and heading straight into a corridor.

'Did you figure out where our portal was?'

"Yep."

'How did you do it?'

"With your help. You gave me the idea when you mentioned 'my green friend'. I looked up all the universes with a beast boy and typed in his parameters to eventually find our earth."

'Parameters like…'

She smiled and began to chuckle a bit.

"Annoying as hell, messy teenager, Tara fanatic, you know, what you would expect from our Beast Boy. It's pretty incredible to me that the terminal could locate universes based off adjectives."

'That is pretty impressive.'

We rounded several corners and made our way across several rooms without any Daemonite encounters which was nice. Personally, if I saw another one of those lizard things it would be too soon. We finally entered a room with a skyline. Massive windows made up a majority of the ceiling and the view was amazing. Raven then used her powers to break through the glass and we were out of the carrier heading who knows where.

'Where are we going?' I asked.

"Home." She responded.

I looked back and saw the carrier becoming smaller the further we progressed and wondered why the heck it even exists. What happened between the crew and the Daemonites? And why was it overrurn with them? In a few minutes it wouldn't matter, Raven and I would soon be home.


	9. The Bleed: The Way Things Were

**CH9: The Way Things Were**

We flew a good distance before we came close to any portals. We passed a ton of planetoids, floating rocks, and all along the way could hear the Daemonite's screams. It was eerie and unnerving.

I felt so much better from my fight with the beasts. I wasn't as sore and I had recovered most of my strength. Almost as if someone was healing me. I looked at Raven who was still supporting me as we flew. She was a great girl, intriguing at the very least. What she saw in me I didn't know. What I did know is that once we cross dimensions into our earth, things would have to go back to normal.

I assumed we reached our destination when she stopped abruptly. To our astonishment there indeed was a portal just up ahead. It was big, no bigger than the door that was barricaded back in the carrier, but still a good size. She set us down on a plot of rock and we stared in silence for a while at the gateway.

We saw multiple features that confirmed it being our universe. The aerial view of Jump City, our favorite pizza place, and Titans Tower. To make matters awkward, we saw current events taking place between the Brotherhood and the Titans. Mammoth got the jump on Cyborg, Plasmus and Trident were pummeling Aqualad and his pet, we had the definite advantage.

I turned to face Raven who had a blank expression on her face.

"You know, it doesn't have to be like this. The Brotherhood will likely fail and you will all go to prison."

'Our plan is greater than you can imagine.'

"That may be, but what I've learned with my time in the Titans is that even when we are beaten, we later comeback stronger. You really want to deal with that?"

'I'll take my chances.'

I extended my hand offering a handshake to the grey skinned female I had become quite fond of over the last couple of… hours? Days? Regardless she was a hero, and I a villain. This was the way things had to be. What was I going to do? Become a good guy and fight crime? Betray my friends? Even villains had morals.

She rolled her eyes and gave me full embrace. Her hug was amazing. The warmth made me remember all of our shared moments in the Void, as well as the Bleed. Maybe one day we could be together, just not now.

I had to pry her off of me otherwise we would not be leaving anytime soon.

'As soon as we are back… things go back to how they were. I will fight you, and I will beat you this time.'

She rolled her eyes as if I had insulted her.

"I'm no pushover, you should know that by now."

I smirked and placed my hand in hers and began to walk towards the portal. It was illuminating, continuing to shift between locations, battles, and time every step we took. The closer we got, the brighter it became overwhelming our sight. We treaded on and eventually I couldn't feel the ground, but I could feel the falling sensation of plummeting from the heights of our atmosphere. We were over a body of water and in the distance, I could see two things, what remained of a Titan ship, and my partner Psimon.

I almost regretted that we were going to fight again… until I got socked in the jaw.

'The hell?'

Raven looked serious.

"Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!"

Her attack sent me flying back into the ocean and I landed with a splash. Guess things did revert to how they once were. I flew out of the seawater and calculated her trajectory. It appears as if she was retreating. Why? She had me. I tried to rationalize it only to find out Psimon had intercepted her. I saw his energy collide with her magic in a big explosion. If I didn't do something soon, Psimon could very well kill her. I was not going to let that happen. I teleported right next to her and enveloped her in my cape again. This was all part of the original plan; catch her off guard, and Psimon will trap her in another dimension. Ironic since that is where we just escaped from. I don't know what dimension he is going to send her to, but we could always get her back. I came out of warp and before us was a portal generated by Psimon's telekinetic abilities. Raven looked at me with annoyance and all I could do was shrug.

"Really? Another dimensional prison?"

'Hey, better than being blasted to oblivion, right? Psimon isn't as docile as I am.'

I gave her one last look and kicked her into the portal. In a split second she was gone. Psimon looked quite pleased with himself but I couldn't help but wonder if she would find her way back again. I didn't even know if that dimension was connected with the Bleed in any way. In the coming days I'm sure we will find out if the Brotherhood's plan would actually rid us of the Titans forever. For now our mission was complete and we were headed towards the rendezvous point; The Brotherhood of Evil's base located in France.


	10. Titans Together: Falls Apart

**CH10: Falls Apart**

The Hive Five and I were ecstatic to see most of the Titans on ice. Thanks to the Brain's plan, we would no longer have to worry about getting foiled in our robberies or mischief. I could already picture a Titan free Jump City, where us villains could roam free and pillage whatever we pleased without interruption.

However, something unexpected happened as we were on the verge of celebrating the freezing of Robin.

There was a resistance. A small band of heroes who survived our search and destroy missions came seemingly out of nowhere with Beast Boy as their leader. They put up a fight, but they eventually fell to our overwhelming numbers.

We had them. We had won. The feeling of victory felt amazing but unfortunately was going to be short-lived.

We didn't even know what hit us. Suddenly, waves of unaccounted for Titans started bursting into our base and caught us off guard. Cyborg emerged from the ground with the caveman from the stone age and the pink haired girl that could turn into crystal. Starfire blasted a good-sized hole in our base's roof and levitated in with several other flying Titans. And finally, as if things were not bad enough already, Raven phased in with MINI supers and a giant teddy bear. Heroes were now everywhere, and Beast Boy and his band of merry substitute Titans were rekindled as well. Villains rushed in to handle the masses of heroes flooding in. I did my best to assist several villains against the green T-Rex, only to get owned by its massive tail. I then happened to run into a possessed Control Freak and he struck me with his quad-blade lightsaber. He then proceeded to take out Private Hive and several other villains. Both battles ended up causing our side grief.

The entire situation was unfathomable. Just moments ago, the Brotherhood of Evil had all the Titans frozen and on display like action figures at a toy store. The small resisting heroes led by Beast Boy were incapacitated as well. And yet it was all falling apart. Then I came face to face with Raven.

"Kyd." she said with distaste.

The battle around me began to fade and the only thing I could focus on were Raven's eyes. I remembered our time together in the Bleed and how it all started with the search and destroy mission assigned to Psimon and I. That was then, this is now.

'Raven, long time no see.' I teleported behind her and gave her a swift kick in the ribs. She was knocked back but not before I felt a searing pain on my back. It burned and sent me crashing to the floor. The impact left a small crater in the ground. I was amazed I could walk away from that.

'What hit me?' I turn to see Starfire who was now aiding Robin flying away. 'Damn that hurt.'

"Clutch it! Lets get out of here!" Gizmo declared. Mammoth and Billy were all too eager to hightail it out.

As for me, I glared at Raven one last time before turning and joining them. The odds were no longer in our favor. We made our way to the nearest exit only to find Kid Flash blocking our way.

"Now's the time you're probably thinking… I shouldn't have hooked up with these guys. Hate to say it, but told you!"

I couldn't believe it. He was gloating now?

(CRASH)

The team and I turned to see Cyborg pummeling Control Freak.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to pick up a friend." Flash told the tin man.

Then I saw her. 'Jinx!' I thought out loud. The entire group was surprised by her appearance. What was she doing with this guy? Last I checked, she hated Kid Flash's guts for ruining her chances to join the Brotherhood of Evil in the first place.

I could feel my face become overrun with disappointment when I finally put two and two together.

"You're with him? Traitor!" I heard Gizmo shout out.

I'd be lying if I said seeing her standing next to Kid Flash didn't hurt. If she was with him… then that meant…

"Probably have some catching up to do." Kid Flash then departed and joined the battle leaving what remained of the Hive Five with Jinx.

"Nothing personal." Jinx gave us, her old team, the same smirk she used to give those who she was about to level with her hexing abilities. Next thing I knew we were all on the ground. I tried to get up but found myself on a conveyor belt within a fraction of a second. I tried to gather my bearings but things got cold fast. It started at my head but quickly spread through the rest of my limbs. I remember the battle scene between the Brotherhood of Evil and the Titans fading away as the frost took over my body. My breathing became shallow and I lost consciousness altogether in a matter of moments. It was over for all of us. We lost.

…

(Two Weeks after the Teen Titans movie "Trouble in Tokyo")

Cold… That was the only thing I felt as my consciousness returned to me. How long had I been frozen? Weeks? Months?

I could feel the ice thawing out. I did my best to move my head and I was somewhat successful. The ice shattered around me as I started to move more. First, I freed my arms. Then I used them to chip the ice off my neck and head. Finally, I freed my legs. I was exhausted. I fell onto the floor in pain. The blood started to circulate once again and my joints felt all but stiff. I started coughing and gagging, gasping for fresh air. The last breath I took was literally some time ago. I felt weak. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened in the time I was out cold.

When my vision was no longer blurry I looked around I saw the base where the battle between the Brotherhood and the Titans took place. It was empty, dark, and looked to have been abandoned for quite some time.

How did I thaw out? Was it a malfunction with the machine? Slowly but surely, I picked myself up from the ground and made my way to the control panel.

'Maybe I can help free the others…'

I looked at all the levers and knobs and had no idea how to work the thing. Maybe if I just played around with it something would eventually happen.

"Hello Kyd."

I was startled and turned around to the shadows. That's when I saw a tall figure standing there in the darkness. How did this get by me? Usually I'm so careful when it comes to sensing those in my proximity. Must be the aftershock of being frozen for so long.

'Who are you?' I asked curiously. Was he the one who helped free me. If that was the case why had he not freed the others?

"How about a 'Thank you'. If it weren't for me you would still be on ice right now."

I narrowed my eyes and pondered his words, all of which were true.

'I am grateful for the early release… but my friends are still frozen. So, if you don't mind I'm going to release them now.

"Let's not be too hasty my boy. You all ended up frozen due to your multitude. What I have in mind requires only your services. It's true, there is strength in numbers. But too much free thinking can often have a negative effect on the overall goal of the group."

I couldn't get over the fact of how cocky he sounded. Who did this guy think he was?

'First of all, I don't work for you. Secondly, I'm not going to release all of them, just my friends. And lastly, why did you unfreeze just me? There are super villains here far more powerful than I. So why even bother?'

I could tell he was getting irked. He stepped into the light and I finally got a good look at him. He was tall, well build, and had a heavy-duty suit on. To make him even more of a mystery man, he wore a mask that was half black and red with only one eye visible.

I've heard of this guy. He single handedly took down the Titans several months ago. Not only that, but he even managed to blackmail Robin into working for him for a period of time. This guy was a legend. At the Hive Academy they had an entire course dedicated to him.

'You're…'

"Hello Kyd, I am Slade."


	11. Titans Together: Things Have Changed

**CH11: Things Have Changed**

Slade? I still tried to wrap my mind around it. Out of all the major villains frozen here, he chose me. Why?

'What happened to us?'

Slade took a couple steps towards the edge of the terminal where the controls were to get a better view of the frozen collection of villains on the shelves. He looked like he was enjoying himself, almost as if he was gloating that he was never caught of frozen.

"What happened is that you joined the Brotherhood. Tell me, how excited was your team when they received a formal invitation to join them?"

I didn't bother to answer. I had been frozen for quite some time and the last thing I wanted to do was play mind games with Slade. After some awkward silence he looked my way again and continued his boring monologue.

"I remember receiving an invite myself. I still to this day cannot wrap my head around the Brain's audacity, that I would stoop so low as to join up with him and merry band of villains."

'Our merry band had the Titans dead to rights at one point.'

"And yet, here you are recovering from being cryogenically frozen for almost a month."

A month? Unbelievable, I had lost a month of my life due to those infernal Titans.

'What else aren't you telling me?'

"Oh Kyd, there is so much that has happened since you all were put away. But maybe you should just see for yourself."

I couldn't just walk away from my friends. I couldn't care less about the other villains. But half the frozen statues I had gone to school with. They were like family. They took me in when I had nowhere else to go. To just walk away and experience freedom while they remained frozen was not right.

"Fear not Kyd, we will be back for your friends soon enough. After all, they have a part to play in my master plan as well."

'I'm not your puppet Slade.'

"Funny, Robin said something similar to me some time ago. And yet he worked for me regardless. His soft spot for his friends was easy to extort and manipulate. He didn't have a choice, but you do."

I looked at him wondering what he meant.

"I'm sure you are all set to get revenge on those responsible for putting you on ice. Kid Flash, Jinx… Raven?"

I got a bit flustered when he said her name. On one hand the time we spent together was special. On the other hand, she did leave me here to be incapacitated for the rest of my life.

'They were just doing their job. We are villains after all.'

"Even villains don't deserve a fate like this. When their supposed justice is served they typically put villains in prison to live out the rest of their days. Tell me, were they doing their job when they froze and put you away never to be remembered? Was that living?"

No, it was hell. He was right. We weren't in prison, hell, we weren't even given a proper trial or due process. They just sealed us away. The Brotherhood's headquarters had seemed to be abandoned for some time now. It was clear to me that the Titans had no intention of coming back for us.

"You have a chance to be a part of the greatest revenge scheme of all time. To payback the Titans for the wrongs they have enacted on not just you, but your friends as well. But I need you to have a little faith. This part of the plan requires just us. If we were to unfreeze your friends now, do you really think they would just stay put until our part of the plan is done?

Not a chance. Especially Billy. He could be a bit headstrong when it came to getting even. Mammoth learned that the hard way when he kept beating Billy at video games.

"If we were to unfreeze your friends now they would only get in our way. Besides, I think you could benefit from a little quality time with yours truly."

'What do you mean?'

"Training Kyd Wykkyd. Your training starts now."

In an instance Slade was in my proximity and I was staring down his fist heading towards my face.


	12. Titans Together: So It Begins

**CH12: So it Begins**

I was itching to payback the Titans for freezing me away like an unwanted frozen food product tucked away towards the back of the fridge. Revenge was all my mind was focused on. But after a couple days training with Slade, my anxiousness subsided. And after a couple of weeks, the Titans were the last thing on my mind. What took priority at the moment? Surviving my training with Slade.

It all started at the Brotherhood of Evil's lair in France after Slade unfroze me. After a casual conversation, I saw that the best course of action to get revenge on the Titans was to do it Slade's way. Little did I realize what I had agreed to do. From that very moment, my training with Slade had started.

"Your training begins now."

Slade had charged straight at me intending to punch me in the face. I barely managed to dodge his attack. After getting my bearings, I warped right behind him for a sneak attack, and got socked in the gut with a kick from his powerful leg. Boy was I outclassed. That hit evidently was strong enough to knock me out.

When I came to, I was on a nice comfortable bed. It had to be queen size at least, with several blankets overlooking a massive room which had its own fireplace, home theatre, and miniature waterfall. I had no idea where I was, and to make matters even stranger, I was out of uniform.

What replaced my bat-like costume was a black shirt and purple boxers. Shorts were set on the nightstand which I assume were for me to wear. If Slade had enough time to take me back to his place and change my clothes, who knows how long I had been out. The entire scenario I was playing out in my head did not make me comfortable either.

"You're awake."

I froze and looked towards the doorway where a female Slade lookalike was standing. She had hair white as snow and full body armor that outlined every crevice she had. She had two swords sheathed on her back and a mask that had an uncanny resemblance to Slade's.

'And you are?'

She gave me an evil smirk as she sauntered over towards me. I almost thought she was going to begin stripping. That's what we did for See-More's birthday. We hired a stripper to look like Jinx since we knew he had a crush on her and surprised him in the morning. He woke up and the first thing he saw was a half-naked jinx hovering over him on his bed. They went to town and let me just say, See-More had the best birthday ever. Aside from the actual Jinx beating the crap out of him when she found out. The rest of us felt bad since it was our idea. But for some reason she beat HIM up. Girls…

This female Slade… stripper… person, however, was no fantasy of mine. She straddled me on the bed and caressed my cheek.

'What… the fuck do you think you are doing?'

Her smile only got bigger. I'm guessing she got off on making me feel uncomfortable.

"I'm thinking I'm about to get a thank you for dressing and looking after you when you were passed the fuck out. After all, it's not every day someone fights my dad and lives."

'Dad?'

She got off and threw my costume at me from across the room.

"My name is Ravager. And I'm Slade's daughter."

'Oh… hell no…'

"Get dressed. Father would like to see you."

I rolled my eyes and began to take my shirt off. Once it was completely removed I noticed that a certain someone still hadn't left my room.

'Do you mind?'

"What's the point. I've already seen you naked."

'First of all, that is so not the point. And second, INVASION OF PRIVACY! Get out!'

She stayed exactly where she was.

I concentrated and opened a portal beneath her much to her surprise. Figured I would set her down some floors below us. Assuming there were floors beneath us and not solid ground. Worst case she gets stuck in concrete. At least then I could change in peace without having some psycho look me over like a piece of meat.

I finished dawning my costume and headed into the hallway which I assumed lead throughout Slade's base. This place was huge. I must have passed 4 other bedrooms before I entered the master living room. Across from it was the dining room where Slade was sitting at a freakishly large dinner table eating breakfast.

I assume it was Slade anyway. The person I saw was a white haired, older gentleman with an eyepatch over his left eye.

I approached the table and stared right at him, not forgetting that he knocked me out earlier.

"Hello Kyd." He said as he was finishing up his food.

'You almost killed me.'

"I assure you, if I wanted you dead, you would not have woken up in my tender care."

Yea whatever man. If Slade wanted my help he had better not do that again, jerk.

'So, what happens now?'

Slade looked over off to the side where I saw Ravager, pissed off, walking directly towards us. Guess she didn't get stuck in concrete after all.

"Have you met my daughter Ravager"

'Oh, trust me, we have been acquainted.' I replied as I rolled my eyes.

"Good. Then introductions are not necessary. Let's get down to business shall we. He got up and signaled for me to follow him. We ended up in the living room where we had a sky-high view of Jump City. You could see blocks upon blocks of the city, as well as the Island with Titan's Tower on it, and you could barely see the top of my favorite pizza joint.

'You are literally living in the Titan's backyard and they don't even know it.'

"Which is how it must be kept if we want our plan to succeed. One of my drones recently had an encounter with Beast Boy at the carnival grounds so I know for a fact that the Titans know I'm still around. However, since I have not provoked them since, they have dropped their guard, disregarding me as a threat. They have no idea what I have been up to or whom I have freed from the Brotherhood's base."

'Right, what's my role in all of this? Are you going to keep training me?'

Slade was now next to the window overlooking the city, staring at it longfully.

"Unfortunately, there is some business in Gotham that I must tend to before we can proceed. However, while I'm gone, Ravager here will be in charge of your training."

I looked towards his daughter who was no longer pissed. Instead, she had a devilish grin on her face, one that told me I was in for a world of trouble.

'You can't be serious.' I sweat dropped and complained.

"My daughter has bested me in combat on more than one occasion, so I assure you, by the time I come back, you will be fully capable of crushing the Titans on your own. But my plan is a little more intricate than just us fighting the Titans. We will tear them down bit by bit. Not only crushing their forces, but also their spirits."

'Yea… that wasn't my main concern when I brought up my discomfort of being trained by your daughter.' I sweat dropped whilst feeling Ravager's gaze.

"Don't worry." Ravager was pretty much licking her lips when she said that. "We're going to get along just fine."


	13. Titans Together:TrainingWithThe Advocate

**CH13: Training with the Advocate**

It had been almost a week since Slade went to Gotham to attend his personal matters. I'm assuming it had something to do with the Bat messing with his operations. The point was, while Slade was kicking some serious ass, he leaves me here to train with his daughter. I can't remember the last time I got my ass handed to me by a girl. Except for Jinx… Angel… Raven… and Starfire. I was embarrassed just remembering those occasions.

The point was, I could dodge a fair amount of her blows, but when I tried to counterstrike by teleporting, it was as if she could tell where I was going to emerge from.

(BAM)

Her roundhouse kick literally sent me flying in the air before my entire body acquainted itself with the ground.

'Goddammit!' I said punching the ground.

Ravager walked over like she owned the place. Well, I guess technically she did since it was her dad's pad. Complete with a skyline view of the city, multiple training rooms, and a garden at the very top.

"You need to focus Kyd." She said as she helped me up. The first couple days of training were brutal due to our first… encounter in my bedroom. But after many training sessions where she beat the hell out of me, we started getting along. She was motivated to make me stronger, and I was motivated to kick her ass.

"You're putting too much thought into your moves. They must be instinctive. That move you do whenever I lunge at you and you warp behind me for a sneak attack, it's never going work unless you do something unexpected. Your hand to hand combat skills are adequate, but nowhere near where they need to be to keep up with Robin, much less my dad."

'Thank you voice of motivation.'

"I'm serious. If you think too much during battle you will make mistakes. If you ever hope to beat me, I suggest you change tactics."

'Well, you're my trainer. What do you suggest?'

"Far as I know, I have no weaknesses. So I can't help you there."

'Great.'

"That's the whole point of this training. When fighting an opponent more powerful or skilled than yourself, you have to improvise and catch them off guard. Again."

She took out her sparring swords and waited for me to get into battle stance.

Here we go again. Her dad trained her. There is no way I'm getting near her unless she wants me too.

Ravager ran towards me and I got ready. She brought down both blades with such fury, I felt as if they really would have sliced through me had I not blocked them with the blade of my cape. Swing for swing, parry for parry, I matched her blow for blow. I was doing much better this time around keeping up with her blades. I dodged both of them when and attempted to swift kick her legs to throw her onto the ground. She of course caught on quick, jumped, and counterattacked with her own heel striking kick. I avidly avoided the blow and teleported behind her, THIS time a good couple of meters away. I was proud of myself for changing tactics. She assumed that I would be directly behind her when she swung both her blades as if she was hitting a baseball at full force. She was surprised when no one was there.

With lightning quick reflexes, I lunged at her as she was recovering from her pivoted swing, taking both of my cape blades and bringing them up in one swift motion.

(SLICE)

The severed pieces of her sparring blades landed not too far from us as I backed up a bit from Ravager. She tossed her useless hilts aside and got into a fighting stance.

"Not bad Kyd. I did not see that coming."

I smiled for a second, proud of my accomplishment. Those sword of hers were a pain in the ass. Without them Ravager should be easy pickings… right?

(POW)

I found myself on the ground and saw Ravager cracking the knuckles of the fist she just used to sock me with.

"Come one now, don't go soft on me yet." She said as she began to bring the pain.

The first couple punches I was able to block with my cross-arm guard technique. The roundhouse kick that sent me several meters opposite her direction however, knocked the wind out of me. I was exhausted. I could barely catch my breath, much less beat her in a fist fight.

"The training isn't over until you can land me on my ass, or you are passed out. Take your pick Kyd."

I was pissed. I had been knocked out plenty of times due to this psychopathic Slade doppelganger all week. I was not about to lose again.

I regained my composure and read her movements as she charged at me. She did a high kick which was supposed to collide with my face but instead was met with empty space. I had warped to her right on the exposed side which was just now starting to come down.

(WHACK)

I saw Ravager get on her knees in pain hugging her right side where I had just punched her in the ribs. I wasn't done with her yet though. I opened a portal beneath her which she avoided to my expectations. The direction which she jumped was right towards me. I wrapped around her the way I did Raven over the pacific and began to warp. I had teleported us outside midair, at least sixty feet above Jump City's lake. In the sky was a kid in a bat looking costume dropping a female psychopath in a compression suit, into the water.

Forty feet.

Thirty feet.

Twenty feet.

(SPLASH)

'That sounded like it hurt.'

I hovered over the water as I searched for Slade's daughter. Sure enough, about fifteen feet underwater was the scandalously dressed teen. She wasn't moving. Was she unconscious?

'Shit.'

I retrieved her from the water and put her on the shore. She wasn't breathing.

'Oh come on.' I Sweat dropped and teleported both of us back into her father's penthouse. I set her on the living room's coffee table and checked for her breathing. This time I was absolutely certain she wasn't. I began to do compressions but her suit was too tight to allow adequate air flow in this emergency situation.

'You've got to be fucking kidding me.' What was worse than her wearing a skin-tight suit in a situation like this was the fact that I could not find the stupid zipper. I checked literally everywhere before I warped to the kitchen, got a knife, and warped back to cut her out. I started near the lower part of her stomach and sliced my way up carefully eventually freeing her breasts. Of course she was not wearing a bra underneath and they were obviously well endowed. Not as big as Ravens but enough to literally pop out and almost hit me in the face.

I then commenced the compressions as well as giving her mouth to mouth. This time my method to revive a human being actually worked no thanks to that healing trance nonsense I had previously encountered with a grey-haired mystic. She rolled over onto the floor and began coughing up water… lots of it. I patter her on the back to help her out a bit which made her cough up more water. Go figure.

She plopped herself up and reclined on the soaked coffee table and looked straight at me. Her breasts totally exposed, her suit was cut up, and yet she appeared calm. She closed her eyes and muttered a single word at first.

"Touché."

'What?'

She got up and started to squeeze the water out of her hair by twisting it.

"Guess you're not a pussy after all."

'You almost die, and that's all you have to say?'

She got close to me to the point where our noses were almost touching.

"You better be ready to die tomorrow, because I want my rematch at dawn."

Then she did the unexpected and planted one right on my mouth. It was short and anything but subtle.

She then casually walked out of the living room to who knows where, half naked, leaving one drenched carpet and coffee table.

This chick… was psychotic.


	14. Titans Together: Forgotten

**CH14: Forgotten**

Another day, another 24 hours enduring nothing but training. I was tired of it. It felt good to have bested Ravager in at least one sparring session yesterday. But I needed a rest. My body ached all over, so much so, I felt like a walking pile of gelatin.

'That does it…' I thought.

I was going to take at least one day off from training, with or without Ravager's approval. Not like I would tell her anyway. I had been out of cryogenic stasis for a couple weeks and I still haven't gotten a moment to myself to check out Jump City.

I got out of bed and didn't even bother to dawn my costume. Instead I went through my generously stocked wardrobe and searched for something more… inconspicuous to wear. I found a purple shirt and some black jeans. I didn't look half bad. I rarely show this side of myself to anyone. I looked at my facial features. My purple eyes looked stunning with my Caucasian skin and black hair. Everyone at the Hive Academy thought I had blood red eyes and pale white skin. But it was just the cowl. I could take it off whenever I wanted to, I just rarely did.

Only a few people have seen me without my costume and had full knowledge that I was Kyd Wykkyd. Ravager and Slade don't count due to their huge invasion of privacy they pulled on me my first day at their base. No, the ones I willingly allowed to see me for who I was were Angel, my first supervillain girlfriend, and Jinx, my former leader. Both occasions had their own story, but I don't regret either of them.

(BEEEEEEEP)

I stopped myself just in time at the crosswalk being narrowly avoided by oncoming traffic. Man flashbacks are dangerous in Jump City. During the time of my reminiscence, I had ended up in the downtown area. Everything looked the same… and yet different. My favorite video store had been closed down and the shopping block with my favorite book store was being worked on as an office complex. Lots of construction seems to have been going on in my beloved city. At least one thing remained; the Pizza Corner.

It has been my favorite pizza joint since I can remember. When I was in the Hive Five, we would order out from them all the time. I sat down and waited for my order; a large stuffed crust extra peperoni pizza. I devoured more than half when the order arrived and could not finish the rest. I had about three slices left over, and I'll be damned if that was the best pizza I had ever had. Then again, I haven't had a pizza since I was frozen.

I took a to-go box and continued my trek through Jump City. I happened upon the museum the Hive Five and I tried to rob a few months back only to be thwarted by Kid Flash. Damn, so many bittersweet memories.

I walked through central park as I brought out my leftover pizza, I was starting to get hungry again. I saw couples going for a jog, boys playing fetch with their dogs, and families having picnics. I rounded the corner on the dirt trail I was on and the sight before me made me drop my pristine slices of peperoni. Emotions overcame me, and I was mortified, afraid even. Under a big oak tree levitating and reading a book was Raven.

I had just recently come out of cryogenic stasis, been enduring the most gruesome training sessions, and this chick was under a tree reading a book like all is well with the world. I must have been staring for awhile because she noticed me.

'Shit!' I thought to myself.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

'Shit Shit Shit.' I'm mute and can only communicate telepathically. If I did, she would without a doubt recognize me even without the costume. I stood there petrified like a dumbass. I should have turned around and gone back the way I came but instead I kept staring.

Finally, she gave me a wrinkled face of distaste and flew away, most likely to find a spot where no one would disturb her. I was such an idiot. But dumbass or not it was evident I still had some sort of emotional attachment to her. Why? She left me at the Brotherhood's base and never came back. Never even a second thought. I was completely forgotten.

I had made my way to Jump City's shore and across the water I would see Titan Tower. Well, I made it this far, might as well see what they have been up to. Surely someone had to remember the masses of villains they had frozen.

I teleported onto the roof where the volleyball court was located. Why didn't our Hive base have a volleyball court? Jinx was against the idea that's why. Instead she opted for a pool and jacuzzi on the roof which wasn't all that bad to be honest. But I would have destroyed anyone at volleyball with my powers.

I levitated off the edge and descended several stories until I came to the main living room. It had a semicircle couch in front of a massive flat screen TV. There was a dining table off to the side as well as a kitchen. I made sure to stay out of sight behind the solid walls whilst peeking my head around looking through the massive windows. What I saw displeased me. Kid Flash and Jinx were flirting on the couch while Cyborg and Beast Boy were playing their video games. Robin seemed to be jamming out to his music and Starfire was concocting a really weird sandwich from what I could tell were pickles, peanut butter, mayonnaise, mustard, chocolate… I thought I was going to be sick.

Here they were just living out their "normal" lives while all the villains were frozen, unable to live at all. The more I though about it, the more I wanted to warp into the tower and kick their asses. All the rage I had once again dissipated when a gray skinned titan joined the party.

"Hey Raven! Where have you been?" Beast Boy blurted out.

Raven looked annoyed. "Somewhere quiet, and without distractions. Or so I hoped."

"Did something happen?" Robin inquired.

Raven thought about it for a moment. It was as if she didn't fully understand what happened back there at the park. Granted it was pretty awkward, but it wasn't that bad in my opinion.

"There was this kid that freaked out when he saw me. He dropped some leftover food he had and just kept staring at me. I had to leave and find another place to read."

"Don't feel bad Raven. People stare at Beast Boy all the time. It's not every day you see a kid with green skin playing at the arcade you know."

"HEY! I may be green, but I have feelings too you know!" Beast Boy shouted.

The Titans chuckled at his remark and everyone went back to their own thing. That was that. No mention of their recent victory over the Brotherhood, or any of the frozen villains left back in Paris. It was almost heartbreaking. Villains or otherwise, we were still people with lives. And the Titans took all that away.

I was depressed. I had flown from the Titan's tower back to jump city not caring that I could teleport to save time. Right now, I just needed to think. I began to walk up the sidewalk next to the water until I came upon a bench. I made myself quite comfortable on it as I overlooked the sun setting over the horizon. Everything was so peaceful, and yet I was ever so distraught.

"You will get your revenge you know."

Ravager literally appeared out of nowhere and joined me on the bench. She sat down with about a foot distance between us and overlooked the water as well. She was wearing a black shirt, white shorts, and very dark sunglasses I assume to cover her missing eye.

"It might not be today, or tomorrow, but mark my words, the Titans will pay for what they have done to both of us."

I ignored her for a moment and collected my thoughts.

'It's just so frustrating that the Titans are living out their lives while all the villains are in a frozen hell. At this point we are not even a memory. We have been forgotten. And yet life goes on, like we never mattered. Sure, we may be villains, but villains are people too.'

"Yes, we are."

Ravager stood up and extended her hand to me.

"Come on, let's go home. Figured we could use the rest of the day to relax before our rematch tomorrow. I was thinking we could watch a scary movie. Unless of course, you're too chicken?"

'Me? Chicken? How about a wager?'

"I'm listening."

I grabbed her hand and she helped me up from the bench.

'We choose a horror movie neither of us have seen, and the first one to jump or scream has to pay for the pizza we are going to order.'

"Deal."

Ravager and I walked back to the building her father owned. I knew from the start, taking the day off was a good idea. Today a scary movie, tomorrow the Titans demise.


	15. Titans Together: Injuries and Bath Bombs

**WARNING: Explicit content. Lemon ahead. This chapter is not essential to the arc itself. That being said, if you could care less about this kind of stuff, feel free to skip this chapter.**

 **CH15: Injuries and Bath Bombs**

Ravager was not kidding when she said she wanted a rematch. We must have been sparring all morning and every time I beat her she wanted to go again. And every time she beat me, I wanted to go again. The cycle continued when eventually we collapsed out of exhaustion.

We were on the penthouse roof that had a garden and we both just laid on the grass catching our breaths.

'That was fun wasn't it.' I asked her.

"Kicking your ass? Hell yea it was."

'Funny. I recall the matches being more even this time around.'

"I apologize for the brain injury I caused you earlier today that would make you think that."

I chuckled to myself and couldn't help but look her way. We both decided to spar without our outfits so here I was on the grass in shorts, and a purple shirt, and there she was in spandex shorts and a tank top. Her white hair was very pretty and complimented her facial features. Except for that eyepatch.

'What happened to your eye?'

There was silence for a good two minutes before she said anything.

"I know you think of me as a psychopath, and that's okay. Maybe I am."

When she acted crazy, sure, psychopath sounds good. But when she got serious, she was almost enjoyable to talk to. I gave her my attention, curious to what she was about to talk about.

"Once upon a time, I still had my left eye. I modeled my costume to resemble my dad's primarily after the Titans defeated him the first time. You know, when he blackmailed Robin to work for him."

I saw in her eye sadness and regret, but also relief.

"I took my own eye however, the second time my father fell to those infernal Titans. Terra, his second apprentice, betrayed him for love. She sacrificed herself and sealed my father in molten rock never to be seen again. Or so I thought. During the time I thought he was dead I was off the edge. Mad and deranged with sadness. I didn't know how to cope. One day I broke down and I carved out my own eye to resemble him even more because I felt it was my responsibility to carry on his legacy."

Something possessed me to hold her hand. I didn't even like this chick, but I felt as though she needed it.

"Imagine my surprise when I read on the news that my father helped resurrect, and later defeat the demon lord Trigon. I found him shortly after and we reunited. Not in the most loving way of course. It was emotional for me, but my father as you know has always been strictly about business. I vowed revenge against the Titans for putting me through such scrutiny and I aim to get it. With Slade's plan we can't lose. Not this time."

I didn't really know what to say. Sure, it sounds like she has had it rough going at it solo. But she partially did that to herself. The eye part at least.

She let go of my hand and stood up.

"Come on. Let's get our injuries healed."

I nodded and followed her through the many floors of Slade's building till we reached what I call heaven on earth. Here we were, beaten and battered, covered in sweat, and before us is a whole floor of wet attractions. There was an Olympic size pool complete with a water slide as well as a massive jacuzzi with bath bombs ready to be utilized. I felt like a kid at a water park.

"Yea I know it's a lot to take in. The water slide was my idea and the bath bomb shelves I bought in downtown Jump City."

We kept on walking and that confused me. Why weren't we getting in the water? That's when I saw the most eerie attraction amidst this personal water park. In a separate sealed room was a pool of green water that seemed almost super natural in a way.

Ravager punched in a code I didn't catch onto the keypad and the room opened.

"Welcome to the main attraction."

I looked around the small radius of the pool. There were no jets but somehow it was as hot if not hotter than the jacuzzi.

'What's so great about a pool of green water that looks like sewage?'

I turned around and my eyes were wide open as I saw a half-naked Ravager. She had already taken off her tank top and bra and it didn't look like she was going to stop there. She continued by removing her latex shorts and finally her very revealing thong.

I could feel my face was hotter than any jacuzzi on the planet. And what was worse, she was walking straight towards me. I closed my eyes as she began to undress me whilst explaining the green pool phenomenon.

'This, my batty partner in crime, is the Lazarus Pit.'

What? No way! I had heard stories about it but never thought it was real. I never thought I would be naked in front of a psychotic Slade lookalike either and yet here we are. But what was the Lazarus Pit doing in a penthouse? She grabbed me by the hand and guided me into the pool. I could feel my body revitalizing itself when just my feet entered the water. When I was up to my shoulders I noticed the full effects of the Lazarus pit. I saw Ravager's bruise on her side heal almost instantly, and the bruises on my stomach and arms were gone too. I then felt her hand start to stroke my member. I don't know why I was surprised. We were naked, together, alone, in a fucking mystic pool of green water.

"This isn't the original Lazarus pit. It's a copy. The original one was destroyed sometime ago when my father had a run in with Batman and his wife, girlfriend, baby mama, whatever she was, Talia Al Gul. Long story short, the pool was destroyed, but my father managed to save a sample of the water."

She then guided my tip to her entrance and wrapped her legs around me as I penetrated her. She began bouncing up and down like a cowgirl riding a horse.

"My father paid good money to have the water replicated down to the molecule. A Regeneration pool comes in handy after you have had a big battle, or in his case a run in with the bat."

The heat was so intense, I could hardly handle it. I grabbed her hips and thrusted harder, even faster.

"This water has been known to even revitalize the dead with a crude side effect of temporary insanity."

A little longer and I was going to blow. Unfortunately to my annoyance she got off and started stroking it with her hand again.

"Father's hired help however did manage to get rid of the insanity side effect by removing a certain molecule from the initial codex of the water."

Ravager kissed me on the lips and slowly submersed herself in the water. To this day, I do not know how she held her breath that long. Perhaps it was her special training, or maybe she was part fish. But once she was underwater she did not come back up until she finished what she started.

She took all of me in her mouth and started bobbing back and forth like… well a bobblehead on the dash of a Jeep. I could feel the tip going to the back of her throat time while her hand pumped what was being left out.

Any second now. A couple more thrusts… I felt myself emptying myself into her esophagus. When I climaxed, my member was deeper than it had been when she was sucking on it. It was well in her throat. I must have produced about six pulses which in my opinion was the equivalent of a small river. I could feel her swallow after every couple of pulses. She then retracted her head until my member was once again exposed. She surfaced and without a hint of guilt or loss of bravado continued to ramble on about her magical pool.

"We could pretty much be dying from cancer, and a little dip in this pool would eradicate the disease and revitalize our health. Think about it, we wouldn't have to rest between assaults on the Titans. We will be unstoppable."

I responded with as much bravado as I could conscidering I had just had my dick stroked, fucked and sucked in one sitting.

'Is that your father's plan? To utilize the pool in such a way that would leave our enemies exhausted while we remain strong?'

She looked at me with a face a guilty child would have had she been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"I don't know. It's what I would do. I don't really know what my father's plan is."

'So, this was all just a ploy to get in my pants.'

"More like get you out of them. And to hell with the 'ploy'. You had fun and you know it. We got our wounds healed, and I'd say we have made major headway in our relationship.

Haha, "headway". Well, she wasn't wrong. Been awhile since I had gotten laid. And she was right. I felt all healed up. Stronger even.

"And besides, one of the best features of this pool is how quick it restores your stamina."

I looked at her inquisitively before I figured out what she meant as she began to stroke my member again. Hard as a rock. This could come in handy for any future girlfriends I may have.


	16. Titans Together: What Comes Around

**CH16 What Comes Around**

During the time it took for Slade to clean up his mess in Gotham, Ravager and I had gotten pretty close. Not enough to the point where I would actually date her. After all, I don't think anyone could compare to Angel. But we got close enough to where we could tell each other almost anything… and do pretty much anything too.

But the training, the sex, all of it got put on pause when her father sent both of us a mission. His work in Gotham was nearly complete, but while he finished up, he instructed us with the kidnapping… of Jinx and Kid Flash.

'Why her of all people?' I mumbled.

"You know her?" Ravager asked.

'…She was my old leader when I was in the Hive Five. Me and my team last saw her leave after being humiliated by Madam Rouge. She hoped to capture Kid Flash and use him as a ticket to join the Brotherhood. How ironic, that we ended up being invited join anyway, and she defected over to the Titans. I was so confused to how she could just betray her friends and leave them petrified for eternity.'

Ravager looked at me awkwardly.

"Soooo… that's yes then."

I studied the mission very carefully. Why would Slade want this particular pair of Titans? Sure, I wasn't complaining. Kidnapping her would give me a chance to give her a piece of my mind. But Jinx was strong. Not to mention her… boyfriend Kid Flash gave the entire Hive Five a run for our money when we fought him a couple months ago. What's a teleporter and a mini Slade to do against the likes of them?

"We have to be strategic." Ravager said as if she had just read my mind. "Kid Flash and Jinx Live together in an apartment in Keystone city. Best time to strike is when they are off guard."

'Off guard? They are Titans. They are never off guard.'

"Even Titans need to sleep." She responded with a devious grin. "Plus, we got a couple of… advantages."

…

It was around 2:00 a.m. and I had just teleported Ravager and myself into Jinx's apartment. And I was grossed out. There were pizza boxes all over the floor, a half-eaten pizza on the couch, and energy bar wrappers all over the countertops.

'I know for a fact Jinx does not live like this. Man, Kid Flash is such a slob.'

We made our way upstairs towards the bedroom silent as the night and sure enough on the other side of the door, were Jinx and who I assume was Kid Flash. They were spread out on the bed and the covers were on the floor. Looks like these two individuals went to town earlier.

I focused on the male. He had red hair and possessed a very thin frame and was wearing boxer shorts with lightning bolts on them. How cliché could you get? I couldn't believe this was the Kid Flash that took down the Hive Five by himself. Then again, I never saw him without his costume until now. Jinx however… what she was wearing made me blush. She wore a see-through mesh top with a dark purple lace bra and what I assume was the tiniest black thong in existence. Man, this brought back weird memories to when Billy and Mammoth hooked me and Jinx up on April fool's day. There was a lot of alcohol involved but when Jinx sobered up… well, it was not a pleasant day for any of us.

"Pleasant" memories aside, what she did to us at the final battle between the Brotherhood and the Titans was unforgivable.

'I need some time alone with her.' I demanded.

Ravager brought out the two "advantages" we had over the pathetic duo and tossed one to me. A collar with a weird black gem in the center of it. I felt weird vibes from just holding it.

"Make it quick. Slade wants the targets captured and delivered efficiently. This magic canceling collar will block her powers making her helpless. So, unless she knows martial arts, she will be rendered useless."

Unfortunately for me, she did know martial arts. But I had a contingency for that problem.

'What about you? Kid Flash is no pushover you know.'

Ravager gave me the same smirk she gave me when she knew she had the upper hand during our sparring sessions.

"That's why my father had this made. It was originally designed to capture the actual Flash in Star City. However cheap parlor tricks no longer work on that speedster but for a novice such as this one before me, well let's just say he's in for a shock."

I looked at the device she was holding. It looked like a TV remote with two antennas at the end of it and several buttons which I assumed turned the functions on or off. This device looked a lot like the level 4 containment field Gizmo developed a couple months ago when the captured Kid Flash escaped and laid waste to our awesome base.

'Fantastic. Now if you don't mind,' I opened up the collar and placed it around Jinx's neck. Immediately a shock was sent through her body. I could tell because I felt it conduct through my body as well for a moment. The impact however did knock me back and I witnessed Jinx writhe in pain as the function of the collar was taking effect.

This in turn woke up Kid Flash but he was quickly immobilized when Ravager judo flipped him from the bed, onto the floor, and turned on the device she held in her hand. Electricity surrounded Kid Flash and he too was in a lot of pain.

Ravager towered over him. "Not so tough without your speed, are you? You're not going anywhere with this level 5 containment field of speed dampening energy surrounding you."

I shifted my focus from the impressive light display on the floor to a sweating Jinx still on the bed, her hands trying to pry the collar off to no avail.

'It's pointless. The collar is secured with a lock at the back to which neither me or my partner have the key to.'

She stopped what she was doing immediately as a look of pure shock overtook her pretty face. Slowly she turned towards me as her jaw dropped. She looked as if she had seen a ghost.

"…Kyd?"

I glared at her and all at once, at the mere sound of her voice, memories came racing back about my beloved ex-leader.

She got off the bed and started to walk towards me. From the looks of things, it seemed the initial shock of the collar had worn off. She looked like she had some of her strength back.

"Is that really you?"

How insulting. We worked together for years and even had the privilege of seeing each other naked and she has the gal to ask if it's really me?

She outstretched a hand to caress my cheek. She looked concerned. But all I could think about was the last thing she said to us at the Brotherhood base before I was frozen.

" _Nothing Personal."_

I grabbed her by the wrist which was currently caressing my cheek and glared daggers straight into her purple eyes.

'It's been awhile, hasn't it?'

The screams from Kid Flash caught her attention and a look of anger overcame her face.

"What are you doing to him?"

I grabbed her by the neck with my other arm and manhandled her out of my own anger.

'We need to talk.'

I wrapped my cape around both of us and teleported to the roof. I tossed Jinx on the cold concrete like the way she discarded her team so easily. She quickly got up and looked at the spot where I used to be, only to feel me kick her in the back and send her flying onto the ground. I then proceeded to handcuff her arms behind her back to immobilize her. Never thought her kinky side would actually come in handy. But all things considered, handcuffs were the most normal thing in the bedroom that were available to bind her.

I teleported right in front of her, grabbed her by the shoulders, and lifted her onto the AC duct that was on the roof so that she was level with me.

There was a moment of silence as we locked eyes.

"How?"

I snapped. With all my might I slapped her in the face leaving a bright red print on her cheek.

She glared at me. As if that was intimidating.

'I broke out. And now I'm going to break you.'

She looked at me for the first time in my life with genuine fear. But she deserved it. What goes around comes around, am I right?

'This, is definitely personal.'


	17. Titans Together:TheQuestion I NeverAsked

**CH17: The Question I Never Asked**

A couple more slaps to the face really got her attention. I might have overdone it a bit with the last one since her nose started to bleed. But I was furious. I backed off and paced back and forth till I calmed down. I lost several months of my life, cold and forgotten, and now that I'm face to face with the person responsible, I just wanted to kill her.

"How are you here? The Titans froze you and the rest of the villains back in Paris."

I stopped pacing and immediately stormed towards her. She flinched expecting me to hit her again, but I didn't. I grabbed the nearest cinderblock, set it right in front of her, and plopped myself on it.

'The Titan's first mistake was not checking up on us. That was evident by the state the Brotherhood's base was in when I came to.' I glared daggers at her.

'Why would you betray us Jinx? After everything we went through, how could you just take us out and leave us as if we were nothing?'

A look of guilt came over her and she could not make eye contact with me.

'Let me put this into perspective,' I said as I grabbed her by the hair and forced her to lock eyes with me, 'You betrayed us, for a boy!'

She pulled away as the words sunk in. Bet they were as cold as the wind blowing right now. Looked like a storm was heading our way.

"It's not that simple Kyd. Nothing ever is."

I sat and patiently waited for her to explain herself.

"I needed a change. No one ever believed I could do great things, not even myself. And then Kid Flash came into my life and showed me that just because I have wicked powers, didn't mean I had to lead a wicked life. He changed me. Suddenly villainy didn't matter to me anymore."

'Neither did we apparently,' I scoffed.

"Hey, you guys always mattered to me. But I needed change and I had to prove myself,"

'As a traitor,'

"As a Titan!"

I glared even harder. "Titan." Never thought I would see the day where a mere word would make me want to puke.

'It was them or us… and you chose them.'

The sky was letting lose droplets of water. It was not raining hard, but it was sprinkling enough to the point where Jinx's hair was getting messed up because of it. But even all the water from the sky could not hide Jinx's tears as they rolled down her cheeks.

"I did choose them. And I don't regret it. For years I was doing minute things, robbing a bank here, trying to take over a city there, and for what? Nothing added up. We would get beaten, arrested, let go, and the cycle would continue. Our lives as villains had no meaning."

She had a point. We would always lose to the Titans.

"At least as a Titan my life has purpose. And Kid Flash makes me feel whole, like I actually matter. The betrayal, leaving you guys, nothing was ever personal towards the Hive Five, it was personal towards myself."

I stared at her wondering if she really was not happy with the Hive Five. She was the only girl in the group… and Seymore did always hit on her. Come to think of it we acted like idiots most of the time, so it was expected that she would get a little upset with us now and then. But to go as far as to betray us, that is just hurtful.

"I thought when the fight was over the prison we left you all in would remain undisturbed…"

'Prison?'

I snapped again. I shot up from my cinderblock and grabbed her by the neck and pinned her against the wall that was to our left.

'That was not a prison. Prisons have cells which allow you to move. They feed you three times a day. And most importantly they allow you to LIVE!'

My hand squeezed tighter around her small neck. Bet she preferred the collar over my grip any day.

'Being frozen, in a constant state of awareness that you are in fact alive, but unconscious, is not LIVING! You Titans didn't give us a chance for due process, or allow us to surrender, you just froze us all in a perpetual state of hell where you intended to leave us indefinitely.'

She struggled against my grip and I let her down to where her feet actually touched the ground and she could breathe a little better.

"You all froze the Titans without hesitation and were going to keep them as trophies for who knows how long. You guys getting frozen by your own machine, it was poetic justice if you ask me."

I threw her to the ground and she scooted to the AC vent where she was sitting on moments ago.

'That is expected of villains. Never thought the good guys, who cherish all life, would leave their enemies for dead. In doing so, you Titans made your second mistake, not counting on outside forces to eventually find and free us. And now we are back and going to take you down once and for all.'

"Killing me and Kid Flash won't change anything. If anything, it will just piss off the Titans and bring them full force to your doorstep."

'That's what I think our leader is counting on. However, we are not going to kill you. Any novice knows a Titan is worth nothing dead. It all starts with you and your pathetic boyfriend. We will string you up as bait, and when the Titans come to rescue you both, it will be like lambs to the slaughter.

"It won't work. You think you can take on the Titans at full force? Look what happened with the Brotherhood. They lost, even with most of the Titans already frozen, the reserves kicked your asses."

Thunder rumbled overhead as we stared at each other.

'This time, it will be different. Slade has a plan that will end the Titan reign for good.'

"Slade? He's the one who freed you? Kyd, you can't trust him. He will use you, and when your usefulness ends he will cast you aside. Just ask Robin."

'If it puts you Titans on ice, it will be well worth it.'

Jinx's face looked worried, but I didn't care. She was about to face her punishment for betraying me and my team. I teleported behind her and hit her in a pressure point on her shoulder knocking her out. It was time to leave.

"You done yet?"

Ravager had also come onto the roof carrying one knocked out kid flash.

'Yea, just about wrapped things up. Where are we going.'

Ravager sauntered over and caressed my chin with that smirk I hated so much.

"We're going to Paris Wykkyd. Next stop, the Brotherhood's base."


	18. Titanfall: Energy Siphons

**CH18: Energy Siphons**

Ravager and I had arrived at the Brotherhood of Evil's base. In tow were a knocked-out speedster and witch which Slade had wanted captured for some unknown reason. Nevertheless, being back here where I was dormant for so long gave me the chills, literally.

Ravager knew I was uneasy. I could tell due to the pity back rub she gave me briefly with her available hand. Hesitantly, we made our way inside. The corridors leading to the main hub of the base were earie. The walls were somewhat rusty and small patches of moss were present in the panels due to the humidity in here. Most of the lights were out and the ones that weren't often flickered as we made our way through the maze of tunnels. I had no idea the base was in this condition. When I left here I had been knocked out cold by Slade. So many details I missed due to a punch.

We made out way to the to the sanctuary where the shelves of still frozen villains were. Or so I thought. When we entered, it was pitch black. The only light that was on was the one overhead the control panel which controlled the conveyor belt and the temperature of the frozen victims.

"At last, you have arrived."

Slade stepped out into the singular beam of light near the control panel and looked smug as ever.

"Father." Ravager greeted her dad without emotion. "We brought the Titans you asked for."

"Excellent. Now phase two can begin."

Slade threw the power switch on the control panel to turn on all the lights in the room. And I was horrified to see that all the shelves which once held all the villains, my comrades, and friends, were empty. I looked row by row and not a single baddy was present. What replaced them was a piece of machinery that was in the middle shelf. It had two containment tubes big enough for a person. Each tube was wired to the central piece in the middle which looked like a pulse emitter of some sort. Whatever it was, it was not worth my friends lives.

'What's the meaning of this Slade?'

I teleported directly in front of him and demanded an explanation.

"Relax Kyd. Your friends are safe. They were merely relocated to one of my more secure facilities in Jump City. My scientists are more than capable to handle their wellbeing."

My heart was still racing. I was anxious and curious as to why he always needed to be dramatic.

'What is all this?'

Slade walked calmly towards the device where Ravager was waiting with the two passed out Titans.

"This is the end game Kyd. The instrument of the Titan's destruction."

Slade put Kid Flash in the containment tube on the left while Ravager placed Jinx in the one on the right. Both sealed up tight and airlocked.

Slade made his way to the control module and started to charge up the machine. The tanks which held the two heroes started to drain them of… something, waking them up instantly. Jinx looked ridiculous still wearing her evening bed wear I picked her up from her apartment in. And Kid Flash looked retarded in those boxers covered in lightning bolts. They were both cringing in discomfort as the machine continued to charge.

"And now, a test run."

Me and Ravager looked at Slade with confusion. Both Titans were incapacitated inside the machine, and there were no other Titans around, which meant, WE were the test subjects.

Slade threw a master switch and the machine discharged a yellow and violet pulse which hit us head on. It did not knock us back, and there was no pain present. But what Ravager and I quickly noticed was that we were unable to move.

With me being capable of speech without moving my lips I asked Slade, 'What is this?'

Slade made his way towards us and examined the experiment before him.

"Paralysis. This machine will make it so that anyone hit with the pulse emitted will lose all mobility and be completely helpless. A fellow scientist in Gotham helped me build this machine alongside a visitor from Central City. Who knew that a crazed psychiatrist at Arkham and a monkey would help me bring down an entire faction of heroes."

Slade started moving my limbs putting them in several positions. He put my arms above my head, parallel to my shoulders, and in every position they were capable of being posed in. I was completely immobile.

"It really is quite amazing what several genius minds can accomplish together. This immobilizer draws its power from the speed force which it can access thanks to Kid Flash. That mixed with the hexing abilities of Jinx and reverse engineered in the main transformer emits a pulse that slows down everything. But it doesn't slow down time, instead it slows the motor functions of anything organic the pulse reaches. Your mind stays sharp but the signal from your brain telling your arm to move is slowed or delayed altogether for a set period of time. Thus, making you a prisoner in your own body and vulnerable to virtually anything."

I felt myself be able to move but just barely. First my fingers were twitching, followed by my arms and legs. In a couple minutes me and Ravager were back to being mobile and I was PISSED.

I swung at Slade and tried to get a few punches in, but he evaded all of them.

"Calm down Kyd. It was just a test."

'You played with me like an action figure! Do you really think I would not be angry with you for freezing me in my own body, when I had to endure two months of that when I was left for dead by the Titans?'

"Ah, but that's the beauty of it Kyd. The irony will be that the Titans will be forever frozen in a state that will allow us to do whatever we want with them. Our revenge will be sweet and to the point."

I calmed down and thought about it for a moment. We could use the Titans as meaty punching bags. That would be super fun. I chuckled at the idea and for a moment I was ecstatic that this might actually be the end of the Titans.

"The machines effect lasts around 3-5 minutes as you experienced. The test run was a single pulse. But once set up, it will discharge at every three minutes exactly, leaving no room for error."

'Which leads me to my next obvious question. How are you immune to the machine's effects? Did you work up some kind of signal dampener that you can wear?'

"Very good Kyd." Slade then lifted his armored arm emphasizing the bracelet he was wearing. Wristband is the manlier term I guess. The main body was black with a latch that fastened itself securely. And the main component was what looked like a chip, orange and pulsing a faint light.

"These wrist guards will protect us from the Immobilizer so long as they are in contact with our body."

I looked at Ravager incredulously. The immobilizer gave us a definite advantage, but the Titans were many, and we were just three. When the Immobilizer goes off, our secret weapon would be exposed. If the initial pulse fails to reach all the Titans, those remaining and able to move will do everything in their power to destroy the weapon, not to mention protect their friends.

"Don't worry Kyd. I have a plan to take care of all your concerns. After all, I leave no room for error."

I swear it's like this guy can read your mind sometimes. And **I'm** the actual telepath.

"Operation Titanfall will be set in motion tomorrow. The end of an era, the end of an entire faction of heroes, will begin at dawn tomorrow. You and Ravager get some rest. Relax for the night. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Slade disappeared into the shadows to what I assumed was the corridor that led to his room. I looked at Ravager and gave her that look that implied "where might I be staying?" Naturally, she took me to her room and we decided to take Slade's advice and… "relax". After all, tomorrow was a big day for all villains.


	19. Titanfall: Preparation

**CH19: Preparation**

This was the beginning of the end for the Titans. The plan was foolproof. First, we taunt, then bait, and finally ensnare the prey. Operation Titanfall began with an ultimatum. Slade patched himself through the Titan's private communication channel and their reaction was well worth the two months of being frozen. They looked as if they had seen a ghost.

"Slade?" Robin exclaimed wide-eyed. Raven and Beast-Boy looked cross while Cyborg and Starfire looked just as surprised as their leader. They didn't seem to notice me or Ravager. After all, she was well out of view off camera and I was in the shadows watching the show.

"Hello Robin. It's been awhile hasn't it?"

Robins expression turned from surprised to deadly serious. More so than his companions.

"I'm surprised you had the courage to reveal yourself to us now. After all, your last attack consisted of a booby trapped mask I had in my trophy room filled with hallucinating chemicals."

"Robin, you know I will not take unnecessary risks. Besides, knowing your persistence and obsession with me, I knew your hallucinations would actually kill you had you not figured out my little ploy."

"You almost killed Robin, you dirt bag!" Beast Boy shouted.

"Beast-Boy, how nice to see you. You seem in a much better mood than I last saw you. How's Tara?"

I could tell Slade pushed a button and Beast-Boy looked like he was about to reach through the monitor and strangle him.

"Oh, that's right, she has no recollection of who she once was. She willingly chose to forget everything about her past. Who could blame her after everything you put her through. You're a failure as a protector, and a boyfriend."

"I'm gonna ki…"

Raven stopped the green titan before the language got ugly. When the situation calmed itself down a bit, Robin got down to business.

"Why did you contact us Slade?"

"Funny you should ask. I hear you are short two titans."

Robin narrowed his eyes.

"I should have known you had something to do with their disappearance."

"Yes, you should have. If you want to see them again, alive, you will do exactly as I say."

"How do I know they are not dead?"

"I guess you don't. But as a show of good faith, I will let you see them for a moment."

Slade stepped out of the cameras way and amidst the shadowy room under a beam of light were the two "Titans", Jinx and Kid Flash. From the Titan's perspective they seemed bound, gagged, and completely at Slade's mercy.

Robin looked a bit relieved, but his expression quickly went back to anger.

"What do you want?"

Although Slade was wearing a mask, I could practically see the massive grin he had, smug and pompous.

"You, Robin. I want you. Our first partnership had quite a fallout if you can remember. However, once you surrender yourself to me, things will be different. I will reprogram you, so to speak, to be my apprentice as long as you live. You past life will have no meaning to your new self. I will sick you on your former friends, and make you tear them apart. Meet me at the old Brotherhood's base in Paris. Come alone, or the young superpowered couple will never see the light of day again."

The transmission cut out and we were alone again. It was me, Ravager, Slade, and the two Titans.

"The Titans know that I mean business. Now all that's left, is for them to take the bait. We all know Robin will bring backup and disregard my warning. But that's exactly what I'm counting on. It doesn't matter how many he brings. They will all be powerless once exposed to the Immobilizer."

This was it.

In a couple of hours, the Titans would meet their ultimate demise. And I would have my revenge against them for having left me and my friends frozen for all eternity. For Titans, they went far beyond the line of basic human decency.

It was time for the Titans to know what it feels like to be frozen. Completely helpless and at our mercy.


	20. Titanfall: Titanfall Part 1

**CH20: Titanfall Part 1**

It has been a couple hours since Slade sent his ultimatum to the Titans, and Ravager and I were on edge. Sure, it was just one Titan Slade was blackmailing. But wherever there was one, there were more to follow.

I can almost guarantee, Robin would not show up alone. And I also bet that that's exactly what Slade was counting on.

Everyone was in position. Ravager was overseeing the bound "Kid Flash and Jinx" whilst Slade was sitting in his makeshift throne across the room from them. I myself was in the shadows. The Titans didn't know yet that I was released and thirsted for vengeance. I began to grow impatient. As in, more impatient than I was the first hour that passed with no action.

'Where the hell is this guy?' I asked myself.

Almost as if on cue, Slade broke the silence.

"Are you done spying on us?" He asked.

I was curios to who he was talking to.

"Your nothing like your father, Robin."

I saw amongst the iron beams near the ceiling some mild movement. I was just as surprised as Ravager to see Robin grapple down from overhead and come face to face with Slade. How Slade knew he was here was beyond me. This bad guy truly was in a league of his own. They stared at each other and for a brief moment, I sensed the tension in the air thick as molasses.

Ravager took out one of her blades and positioned it at the throat of one of our superpowered hostages.

Robin got the message not to try anything stupid.

"This place is emptier than when I left it last. Where are all the villains?" Robin asked.

"Now Robin, I can't tell you that. That would spoil the surprise." Slade got up and started walking towards his tied up "friends".

"Let Jinx and Kid Flash go. We had a deal…"

"The deal was," Slade interrupted, "you show up and they stay alive."

Robin looked peeved.

"I have kept my end of the bargain, as have you. Now let's get down to business, shall we?"

Slade pulled out a controller and activated a toggle. From the floor near Robin a silo opened and out came an encased, technologically enhanced battle suit with Slade's signature insignia on it. The beam of light shining on it made it look really slick. It seemed to be dangerously similar to the one Terra had worn.

"What do you hope to gain by this Slade?"

Robin looked on edge. My guess was that he was having flashbacks to when he was Slade's apprentice about four years ago.

"It's simple really. You."

Slade walked behind the battle suit so that the light shone on him just enough to cause an eerie sensation. To me anyway. Robin looked unphased.

"See Robin, ever since you failed me as an apprentice, your replacements haven't really been working out. Terra betrayed me for her so-called love interest. I tried experimenting with some promising younglings back in Gotham but they all disappointed me. After several attempted betrayals, and the accident of a few others getting big heads, I concluded that no one would ever meet my expectations for what I look for in an apprentice. But you did."

"I'm flattered." Robin said through his teeth.

"You don't get it Robin. Your ferocity. Your thirst for battle and desire to be the best. You would do anything to come out on top."

"I'm not like that at all."

"Funny. The Master of Games would disagree with you. You tricked your own Titan friends so that you would place first in the competition he hosted. I can only imagine how awful you felt when you realized that with every victory, you sentence another one of your friends to purgatory while the Master gained their powers."

"I'm not like that anymore Slade."

"Well I'm fairly certain today I will get that Robin back. Today, I will regain my most valued apprentice to ever serve me. Put on the suit."

"What if I refuse."

"You can refuse once before I run out of leverage. Every time you refuse, I will have Ravager 'accidentally' cut one of your friend's jugulars."

"In other words, if I refuse twice, they both die."

"You always were a good detective Robin. With your friends held hostage, you will work for me as long as I threaten their wellbeing."

"And just like last time, you will fail. I may work for you for a while, but my friends will find a way to take that leverage off your hands just like last time. And I can always kick your ass myself when you're off guard."

"Highly doubtful Robin. You see, this suit has an infrastructure that will fuse right to your nerves. Unlike the first suit I provided for you, once you put THIS one on, you will not be able to take it off unless I let you. Terra learned that the hard way."

Robin looked on edge. Who could blame him. In my opinion, he was cornered no matter what he did. Although this plan was a front, there was a very good chance we would not have to use the immobilizer. With Robin under our control, the rest of the Titans wouldn't risk his wellbeing to be heroic and thus would submit voluntarily.

Robin began to walk towards the suit. With every step he took towards the silo, Slade took a step back, ever so careful to maintain a good distance between him and the boy wonder.

Robin grabbed the suit and gazed at it, as if he was pondering whether he was really going to put it on or not. According to Slade's prediction, Robin would refuse and try something stupid. Slade was right.

"Titans GO!"

Robin threw the suit at Slade and in a split second, as Ravager was about to cut her hostage's throat, they were both enveloped in a black aura. Next thing I know Ravager was sent flying back from a burst of magic. The silhouettes of the hostages disappeared, then reappeared behind Robin with Raven as well.

As Slade was getting the bearings on what was going on, a blue beam hit him and knocked him back towards his daughter.

I saw Cyborg join his friends while Beast Boy in his falcon form descended from the hole made in the ceiling by Starfire. The gang was all here.

Slade regained his composure.

"My dear Robin, I thought the deal was for you to come alone."

"You're not calling the shots anymore Slade. It's over."

Slade began to chuckle.

"Oh Titans, it hasn't even begun."

"Robin…"

Cyborg called for the attention of their fearless leader with worry in his voice.

"It's not them. They are synthetics, most realistic I've seen in a while."

Robin glared at Slade.

"You see, I am always one step ahead. I'm still in control Titans."

"What's your game Slade?" Robin asked in desperation.

"There is no game Robin. That would imply that I have been toying with you all from the start. But I assure you, the moment you set foot in this complex you finalized your doom. I assure you, today marks the end of an era, the end of the Teen Titans."

Slade took out what looked like a detonator from his suit and pushed the button. When the trigger was pressed, all we could hear in the dead silent room, were the synthetics next to the Titans counting down.

" _5…4…3…2…1"_


	21. Titanfall: Titanfall Part 2

**CH21: Titanfall Part2**

" _5…4…3…2…1"_

(BOOM)

The synthetics were bombs. Or so I thought. They sure sounded like bombs. I saw the flash go off followed by the thundering sound of the detonation. And yet all the Titans were in one piece. The smoke cleared, and I saw them scattered along the floor. Robin was on top of Starfire having attempted to shield her from the blast. Cyborg managed to land on top of Beast Boy and I could tell he was in major discomfort due to the tin man's weight. And Raven… her hair was messed up and her costume was a bit scorched, but otherwise she seemed fine.

"What… hit us?" Robin asked helping Starfire to her feet.

"Concussion bombs. I wouldn't risk your wellbeing. After all, I've got plans for you meddlesome Titans."

Concussion bombs? They still should have caused more damage than what was dealt especially at the proximity they were at. I can only assume Raven managed to set up some kind of barrier to protect herself and her friends from the initial shockwave.

"It's five on two. We're going to kick your butts!" Beast Boy shouted.

"Count again my green friend."

Finally. That was my cue to swoop in and give an impressive entrance. I teleported myself right in front of Beast Boy and punched him in the face.

'That was for hitting me with your tail jerk.'

"Kyd?" Raven asked wide eyed. The look she gave me was like the one Jinx had given me back at her apartment. Why did everyone think I was gone?

"Raven, get him!" Robin shouted as he took out his retractable bow staff and swung at me.

Too easy. I dodged it and did a reverse kick right into the boy wonder's ribs. He'll be feeling that for a while. I then heard the charging of a cannon, Cyborg's to be exact. He proceeded to fire bursts of plasma at me, but I skillfully teleported from place to place making him miss each time. While he was firing, Beast Boy tried to ram me in rhino form while Starfire used her starbolt eye-beams. I jumped out of the way of Cyborgs blast, opened a portal for Beast Boy seconds before he was about to ram me, made him reappear in the air, and used his initial inertia to slam into Starfire who was hovering above.

(BAM)

Beast Boy and Starfire smashed into the floor together whilst I closed the gap between me and Cyborg. I attempted to slice off his cybernetic arm using my blades only to be thwarted by Robin who blocked me with his bow staff.

I charged at Robin with both cape blades in hand. I sliced, diced, horizontally, vertically, and parried. But this Titan kept blocking me blow for blow. Cyborg attempted to get some shots in as well, but I made sure to steer clear of his massive fists. I didn't stand a chance against them by myself.

I warped next to Slade and Ravager putting the battle on pause. Raven who had made no move against me during our skirmish, stood in the same place in shock. I guess she legitimately did not think she would see me again, which infuriated me. The girl whom I had spent so much time with in The Bleed and had even shared feelings for was just going to let me rot in a frozen stasis. Man, that hurts. In my moment of reminiscing, Slade broke the silence.

"Allow me to introduce you all to my newest apprentice, Kyd Wykkyd. He's one of the poor unfortunate souls whom you all sealed away. And now with him by my side, yours will fall."

"It's still only five on three. Those are bad odds." Cyborg said.

"Yea, for you." Ravager replied as she drew her twin katanas. Slade also took out his own bow staff while I grabbed my cape, ready to teleport if necessary.

Cyborg transformed both his arms into sonic cannons while Beast Boy turned into a Gorilla. Starfire's eyes were glowing emerald green and her fists both had starbolts on hand ready to deploy. Raven who was recovering from the shock of seeing me, managed to find her fighting spirit and levitated over the ground with her white eyes and discharging black magic.

"Slade is mine." Robin said.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of his lackeys." I heard Raven say. Now she was just trying to piss me off.

"TITANS GO!"

In an instant, Robin was fighting Slade one on one while Ravager charged at the remaining four Titans.

Cyborg was blasting away as she made headway, getting closer with each shot he missed. I concentrated and opened a portal under her feet and she dove in like a kid jumping into a pool, emerging above Cyborg and bringing down her blades on the metal man.

(SLICE)

"Aaaarrrggg."

I saw what used to be Cyborg's arm fall to the floor and short circuit. In retaliation, he brought down his other arm in hopes of striking her while she recovered from the touchdown from my portal. Imagine his surprise when she blocked his punch and countered with a kick to his abdominals.

(BAM BAM BAM)

I was surrounded by a bombardment of starbolts. I tried to home in on the source but the ground beneath me separated itself from the foundation and levitated.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Raven flipped the ground I was on upside down and propelled it towards the floor thinking it would squash me.

Instead I warped out of there just in time, located the heroines causing me grief and flew straight at them.

Starfire was the first to react. She fired multiple blasts at me which I nimbly dodged at first. When the second barrage was heading my way, a black aura enveloped me and kept me from moving.

(BAM BAM BAM)

All three starbolts hit me. It hurt like a bitch.

'Goddammit!'

I mustered every little bit of willpower I had when Starfire used her starbolt eye-beams. If those hit me, I would most likely lose consciousness. I outstretched my hand and barely managed to open a portal right in front of me in which the blast went into. I opened the connecting portal right behind Raven.

(BAM)

The blast scorched her and made her lose concentration. I was free from her binding aura and warped over Starfire before they had a chance to recover.

(Slice)

"AAAAHHHHH"

I sliced through Starfire like a knife through hot butter. The beginning of my incision started at the top of her left breast and ended at her right hip. She was bleeding, a lot. She proceeded to hurl more starbolts at me, but her aim was off. At this point she was like an out of control machine gun spraying and praying.

I teleported behind her and put her in a head lock. Biggest mistake of my life. I forgot how strong this alien girl was. I'm pretty sure the elbow jab she gave me fractured my ribs. I'm surprised they weren't broken after that blow. Needless to say, I no longer had her in a headlock. I was instead embedded in a wall several stories high contemplating my life decisions.

I got my bearings after a couple seconds and refocused on taking down Starfire. I teleported behind her and cut her again. This time the incision went straight down her back. She swung her arm around trying to hit me but I teleported to yet another side of her and cut her thigh. I repeated my attack pattern again and again. I cut up her other thigh, her arms, her chest again, over and over in hopes that the blood loss would knock her out or at least exhaust her. It did.

After about the twelfth cut, she began to fade in and out of consciousness to the point where she could no longer stay levitated. She began to plummet to the ground and I thought she was going to make a bigger crater than I did, until Raven caught her with her magic and eased her down gently.

I looked around and saw Robin holding his own against Slade, almost overpowering him most likely due to the shock and anger of seeing his girlfriend be shredded to ribbons by yours truly. Ravager had Cyborg and Beast Boy on the ropes. Cyborg was still missing his arm and had more scratches on his metal plating to compliment the sparks he was discharging. Beast Boy had shifted from ape form into a tiger and most of his stripes were red due to the cuts Ravager must have dealt to him.

By the looks of things, we had the upper hand, so far.

I then found myself in a pitch-black barrier and saw Raven now a couple meters away from me.

"Why would you do this?" She asked gritting her teeth.

'Why?'

She dared ask that? Did none of the Titans have the realization of what they had done to us? I began to slice away at her barrier furiously. The more I sliced, the more strained Raven looked. Finally, my perseverance overwhelmed her concentration. The barrier burst open and I soared towards the blue haired enchantress.

(POW)

I socked her in the stomach with my knee which resulted in her spitting up blood from her mouth onto my costume.

'Why would I do this?'

I karate chopped her neck and sent her plummeting down to the ground. I saw her hit the floor hard and crack the foundation. I could have really hurt her, but I didn't care. I was overcome by my emotions. I felt anger, betrayal, and sadness all at once. The Titans would know that what they did to us villains was wrong, and they would pay the price.

Raven stood up and I warped right behind her, kicked the back of her knee joints, and forced her on her knees. I walked in front of her and looked her over. She looked like shit. I almost felt bad. There was blood on her mouth and she still had burns and holes in her outfit due to the concussion bombs going off.

'Do you have any idea what you and your friends did to us?'

Raven looked up at me. "We beat you and had you all imprisoned."

This girl was as clueless as Jinx. I grabbed her by the cowl and lifted her up so that her gaze was level with mine, so that she could look into my eyes as I told her the atrocity she had committed.

'That was not prison. Prisons have bars, room to walk, air to breathe! You and your Titan friends gave us a fate worse than prison! When you froze us, our lives stopped. We may have been unconscious, but we had enough self-awareness that we were indeed alive. We were unable to move, unable to breathe, unable to live! We lost weeks of our lives due to the cryostasis and when I awoke it was evident that Jump City's heroes had no intention of coming back for us. You left us to a fate worse than death.'

Raven's scowl loosened up a little and was replaced with a look of empathy.

"Well, now you know how it feels. It's not like we planned to freeze you all. We just decided to use your own weapon against you all. Besides, you villains would have left us for dead also, on display while your reign of terror took place should you have won."

I threw Raven across the floor.

'That's not the point! Titans are supposed to be better than villains. If heroes have the capacity to leave multiple people in cryogenic stasis disregarding their right to life, who can anyone trust?'

"I'm not saying what we did was right. What I am saying is that you all deserved it."

'No one deserves that!'

"Then why did you freeze the heroes? Knowing what you do now about how awful it is to be a living popsicle, how can you ever justify the freezing of the Titans, or anyone for that matter?"

I thought about it long and hard. This girl Raven… had a point. It was awful being in that frozen state and I would hate for anyone to be in that situation. Why would I condone the freezing of Titans? Perhaps it was because I hadn't experienced the effects myself at that point. And the freezing of the heroes was the Brain's idea after all. I was just along for the ride as were the rest of the villains that joined the Brotherhood.

"Well?" Raven asked.

'I don't know. I can't justify any of it knowing what I do now about being frozen. But at the time I had no idea it was so awful. It was all the Brain's idea. He designed the machine and deliberately put the Titans on display when we were done freezing them.'

"It doesn't excuse your actions, at all! Thanks to you and your buddies, lots of Titans were frozen that day."

'No, it doesn't excuse you and your Titan friends. You all knew what it felt like to be frozen before the villains did. Hell, you would think Robin himself would stand against that inhumane form of containment. But instead, you all blindly chose to ignore the fact and leave us petrified in our suffering. The villains were ignorant to the awful effects the freezing had on the body. You Titans were not!'

During our chat, Raven had picked herself off the floor and was a couple feet away from me. The battles around us raged on. Ravager was still fighting Beast Boy and Cyborg while Robin took on Slade. Starfire was unconscious on the ground, but me and Raven were in a world of our own. Then Raven said something that I would never forget.

"I'm sorry."

I was taken aback. I had no idea what to say. The anger and fury I felt moments ago subsided.

"I'm sorry we left you all there in that state. And most of all, I'm sorry that even with what we went through and experienced in the Bleed, I never went back for you. But now Slade has two of our friends, and his aim from what I gathered thus far is the complete extermination of all Titans. Kyd, you said you and your friends were left to a fate worse than death. If you help Slade succeed, the fate of the Titans, including me, WILL be death!

Raven always did have a knack for arguing. But Slade never said anything about killing the Titans. I don't think he would have to with the Immobilizer. But if Raven was right and Slade had his way, I would have had helped with a genocide.

Was simple revenge worth the lives of all the Titans?

Was it worth Raven's life?

What was I going to do?


	22. Titanfall: Titanfall Part 3

**CH22: Titanfall Part 3**

Extermination of the Titans sounded appealing… at first. But the more I thought about it, what it actually meant, the more conflicted I became. Here we were about to triumph over the heroes of Jump City and Raven had to put me in a moral dilemma. Help Slade eradicate the Titans, or help the Titans survive Slade. After all, we had yet to reveal our trump card. Once the immobilizer was in play, all bets would be off.

Robin had been fighting Slade this whole time and they were at a stalemate. Both had gotten a couple good blows in. I could tell due to Robin being bruised up while Slade had certain parts of his suit dented and ripped.

"You can't beat me Robin." Slade brought down his bow staff on Robin who blocked it with his own.

"I won't have to Slade. This fight is over."

As if on cue, multiple explosions happened all around the base. And from each explosion, came lots of Titans. It was just like when they caught us by surprise all those months ago. Except this time, we had insurance. If they only knew.

It was an impressive display however. I saw many familiar faces. Bumblebee, Speedy, Mas and Menos, Red Star, Argent, Cole, Gnarrk, Pantha, Wilderbeast, and Hot Spot. I hated many of these Titans. Killowatt, Thunder and Lightning, Jericho, Herald and Bushido were also present. Looks like the entire faction of Titans were here except for a couple. In a few moments it wouldn't matter.

Ravager retreated to the presence of her father while I gave Raven one last sympathetic look before I joined them.

"You're finished Slade. You can't beat all of us, and there is nowhere to run. Now where are Jinx and Kid Flash?"

Me and Ravager were both weirded out when Slade started to laugh menacingly. You would think he was the Joker by how he was cackling. No shortness of breath, just a continuous stream of eerie laughter. It even freaked Robin out.

"You Titans and your naivete. Do you not see how you fell directly into my trap? I've beaten you all!"

I saw multiple Titans charge up their attacks, notch arrows, unsheathe their swords, as if preparing for a fight. What fools they were. It was over.

"You want your friends? They are right here!"

Slade pushed yet another button on his remote and all the lights on the shelves where the frozen villains used to be turned on. Multiple panels shifted and revealed our secret weapon; the Immobilizer. Within the two containment tubes were Jinx and Kid Flash.

Looks of concern overcame some of the Titans as well as confusion. They had no idea what the machine was capable of. But no one was more taken aback than Robin.

"What have you done to them?" He asked.

"You should be more worried about what they are GOING to do." Slade triggered the machine and immediately, Jinx and Kid Flash were screaming in pain as the machine charged up on their power. Just a little longer and the Titans would be finished.

"TITANS GO!" Robin yelled as he charged at Slade.

The Immobilizer went off and I felt the paralyzing pulse. It was a weird feeling. Like I was swimming in gelatin at first, but the effects wore off in a few seconds thanks to the nifty bracelet… wristband Slade built to make the wearer immune to the effect.

Slade, Ravager, and I were all mobile and kicking while the Titans were frozen in their battle stances. An entire room full of living, Titan statues. This was it. We had won. For real this time.

"Impressive is it not? I call it the Immobilizer in case you didn't catch on. Me and some allies met up in Gotham and designed it just for you Titans. You should feel honored that I went through such lengths just to defeat you all."

Slade made his way towards Robin like he had all the time in the world, and by the time he was directly in front of him, the nostalgia for him was overwhelming. It was as if he had been waiting for this moment all his villainous life.

"The Immobilizer's effects wear off every three to five minutes depending on the individual. However, the machine is programmed to go off EXACTLY every three minutes, leaving no room for error. So, any hope you Titans had of getting out of this are null and void. As for me and my apprentices, we will remain immune as long as we wear these wristbands that cancel out the effects."

Since the immobilization, Ravager had since put her katanas away and was dead focused on the main Titans; Robin, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy. Poor Starfire was still knocked out due to the loss of blood, but all other Titans were ripe for the taking. I remembered the things Ravager told me on top of her father's penthouse, how the Titans had put her in a state of misery when they had beaten her father. She was in such a state of despair she carved her own eye out to resemble her father more and carry on his legacy. And now, she had every opportunity to get even with them.

"Kyd Wykkyd, since you were the one left in a frozen stasis for all those weeks, I'm going to let you take first pick of the Titan you want to get your revenge on. Except for Robin, all other Titans are on the table. So, go ahead, take your pick." Slade said.

Oh man, it was like walking into a toy store and seeing rows of action figures and video games; so many choices. But obviously I was going to stick to the main five… four… make that three Titans left standing and made available to me. I didn't want to hurt Raven, so it came down to Beast Boy and Cyborg. Obviously, I chose Beast Boy. If it weren't for him and his team of substitute Titans, we might have had a chance when the waves of unaccounted for Titans began to trickle in. His leadership and courage got all the other Titans fired up to finish the fight.

"I choose the green one." I smugly made my way over. Gosh I had big plans for him. I was going to freeze his head only, then give him an immunity bracelet so that he could spaz out once the rest of his body stopped receiving signals from his brain, then freeze the rest of him. Who knows, maybe I would thaw him out just enough for him to beg for deliverance, and then freeze him again. Oh, that endless cycle would make all those weeks of being frozen almost worth it.

"Well then, let the fun begin." I saw Slade take off his gloves one at a time while Ravager went on her way to choose a Titan of her own to have "fun" with. I kept walking towards Beast Boy and was about to begin his invigorating process of being frozen and thawed out. Three minutes had passed and the Immobilizer had discharged its second pulse. As soon as the pulse died down and I was about to introduce Beast Boy to the cold zone, I began to hear the most brutal beating of my life.

I stopped dead in my tracks and saw Slade holding Robin by his neck and literally beat him with his bare hands. Slade repeatedly punched his face, followed by his stomach, and relentlessly continued his assault. I tried to ignore it and proceeded to take hold of Beast Boy and was about to teleport where the freeze ray was up top on the balcony.

(CRACK)

That was a rib. It had to be. Unless Slade cracked open Robin's skull. I let go of Beast Boy and stepped towards the brutal scene I was witnessing.

'What are you doing?' I asked.

Slade gave Robin a couple more punches to the stomach. He then took out a wristband like the ones we had on which made us immune to the Immobilizer and put it on Robin's wrist.

"It would seem that I am teaching Robin his final lesson. Screw up my plans, get in my way, don't follow my rules, and you pay the price."

Slade let go of Robin's neck letting him fall and kicked him across the floor like a soccer ball. The Boy Wonder rolled across the floor and grunted in pain. When he stopped rolling he attempted to crawl away, but he had a broken rib so he was not going to get far.

'You're killing him.'

"Perhaps."

Slade caught up to Robin and crushed him underfoot. I was certain Slade was putting all his weight on him.

'Where is the fun in winning if your opponent can't fight back?'

"He did fight back. Earlier before he was immobilized, and now with the immunity wristband, he has a chance to fight back again."

'After you broke his rib. He's practically incapable of defending himself at this point.'

"He should have done more damage to me before I activated the Immobilizer."

Slade resumed his pummeling of Robin. This time he kicked him relentlessly. He kicked his legs, his chest and his back.

(CRACK)

Dammit, that sound like another rib.

'I didn't sign up for this…'

"You signed up for this the minute you agreed to join me. We are finishing the job you and the Brotherhood failed to do in the first place. Look around, we won! Revenge is yours for the taking. And yet you're here arguing with me to spare the very Titan that had the most influence in their ranks and made no effort to put you and the other villains in a humane prison. Instead he allowed you all to be sealed away in ice for the rest of your lives. You should be thanking me!"

He was right. I owed Slade everything. My freedom, my revenge, it was all possible because he freed me from my cold prison. But yet…

'I just wanted to get even. Not this.'

"You can get even all you want Kyd. The thing is, so long as the Titans are around, they too will want to get even. The trick is to end the game while you're on top, and there is only one way to do that."

'Kill them?'

"Welcome to the big leagues Kyd. Here, if you give your enemies time to heal after you've beaten them, they will only comeback stronger."

He had a point. I remembered when the Brotherhood of Evil was sitting pretty having frozen most of the Titans. But the loose ends the Brain left unchecked resulted in waves of Titans invading our base. We had supposedly beaten them, but they bided their time, located our base, and came at us full force. I suppose Psimon and I were responsible for one of those loose ends. Raven. We trapped her in another dimension, but she was still alive. She was free and had the will to find a way out. Our mistake resulted in her bringing backup to the final battle between us and the Titans. It cost us our victory.

"If the Titans survive this, the Immobilizer will not work on them a second time. They will regroup and find a way to defeat us. The only solution is to make sure they don't survive. And I personally have great distaste for Robin. At one point he was my greatest asset. But he's beaten and betrayed me too many times for me to grant him a merciful quick death."

Slade and I stared at each other in a standoff. His plan WAS to kill them. I honestly don't know why I was surprised. But I knew I was against it. Raven was right, if Slade succeeded, I would have helped with a genocide.

"If you're too weak to do what needs to be done, then walk away." Slade turned around and picked up robin by his neck again. He tried to push Slade off him, but he was too banged up. I wasn't sure what to do.

Then I felt a surge of magic from behind me and I saw Raven knees down on the floor supporting herself with her hands on the floor like she was doing a religious prayer. My guess is that she used a major amount of magic power to overcome the already weakened effect nearing the third minute of paralysis.

"You may be villains… but you don't murder. Even villains… have morals"

Those were Raven's last words before the Immobilizer went off a third time. In a split second, paralysis began to overcome her body. I could tell she was trying to fight it with whatever magic power she had left but it was no use. As her body became a living prison for her consciousness I saw in her gorgeous dark violet eyes a look that never faltered; hope. I remember I told her those exact words while we were stuck in the Bleed.

"How pathetic. Wasted last words." Slade said as he focused his attention back to Robin.

" _Even Villains Have Morals."_

I thought back to when Billy Numerous beat up that teenager who was picking on a little girl while we were robbing a bank. I remembered the time Raven was cut up by the Daemonite in the Bleed and how I teleported us both to safety whilst being chased by a swarm of them. The Hive Five, and some of the other villains as well were not that hardcore when I thought about it. We may steal, we may mug some people here and there, hell, we might even blow stuff up, but we don't kill. I had made up my mind.

'No, not wasted.'

Slade turned towards me just in time to see my fist collide with his face. Payback was sweet. He went back a couple feet and the surprise attack made him drop Robin.

"You can't be serious." He said.

'I wanted revenge for what the Titans did to me, to my friends. I wanted to show them what it was like to be in that subliminal state of frozenness. That was my idea of payback. You on the other hand just want to kill all of them. That's not revenge, that's genocide. You're sick.'

"Unbelievable. You're as weak as Tara was, betraying me due to conflicting morals." Slade lunged at me with his fist which I attempted to block. The jab was a fake and Slade instead kicked the side of my leg. Damn that hurt.

"If you survive this, you might actually come to realize how flawed you are regarding your logic for revenge. And how wrong you were to betray me!" Slade extended his bow staff and began to run towards me. First things first. No one would die because of me today.

I teleported up to the Immobilizer and observed Jinx's and Kid Flash's state. They didn't look too hot. The Immobilizer was taking its toll on them.

"KYD DON'T YOU DARE!" Slade yelled.

I took both my blades and severed the conversion component of the machine which transformed Jinx's and Kid Flash's powers into the immobilizing pulse.

(BOOM)

The explosion knocked me back to the ground floor where all the Titans were, and Slade was looking in horror at the destruction of his creation. I got back up and saw the containment tubes which had the two heroes were cracked, but intact. They were going to be fine.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Slade yelled in horror. "Without a continuous pulse the Titans will be mobile in a matter of minutes!"

I got off the floor and smugly smiled at him. 'Oops.'

"This is far from over Kyd. Mark my words, your fate will be worse than what I had planned for the Titans." Slade turned tail and headed towards the exit. With the Immobilizer out of order, and a bunch of dormant Titans about to awaken, he knew the odds were no longer in his favor.

I teleported right in front of his path and prepared myself for the hardest fight of my life.

'You're not going anywhere. You want out of here? You have to go through me.'

Slade gripped his bow staff like it was a stress reliever before he threw it across the room and took out his katana. He was serious this time. "All too easy." Slade lunged at me with lightning speed his sword in hand.

I couldn't believe I was doing this. Me, a villain, was standing up for the Titans. Was it worth my life? Was it worth Ravens? I looked over to where she laid paralyzed and helpless.

Yes… yes it was.

I Bolted towards Slade and the whole room echoed with the collision of our blades.


	23. Titanfall: Titanfall Part 4

**CH23: Titanfall Part 4**

Right decision or not, I couldn't back out now. Slade was pissed. He was literally giving me everything he had. His katana was a pain and he knew how to use it well. I dodged it best I could, but sometimes I had to back off a couple feet just to get better footing. I teleported above Slade and brought down my blade which he countered with his own. He then launched me back several feet like a catapult. This guy was in a league of his own.

But in my skirmish with him, I had forgotten one very important detail, Ravager. She came out of the shadows with her twin katanas and nicked my costume. It was a tiny nick since I did manage to avoid most of the brunt force behind the blade but regardless, she drew blood. I was such an idiot. I totally lost tabs on her and it cost me. I teleported this time right behind her and was quick enough to kick her in the spine. She skipped across the ground a couple times before she rolled and got back on her feet.

"No Ravager!" Slade yelled. "Kyd Wykkyd is mine. You go prep the chopper. NOW!"

Ravager didn't hesitate to follow her father's command. She made one last dirty look at me and took off towards the corridor her father tried to escape through earlier. I had to let her go. After all, I was the only person standing between Slade and freedom.

He attacked me again dragging his sword on the metal floor and flinging the sparks generated from the friction towards me. I blocked them with my cape and swung at him with my blade which he countered with his katana and sent a very painful kick to my stomach. I used the knockback force to my advantage and teleported a couple feet behind him and kicked him in the back. The inertia from my hit propelled him forward but he quickly regained his footing.

During the fight it became evident that I was no match for Slade. For every hit I landed on him, he had three on me. I had several cuts on my chest, my cape had slashes in it, and I could literally feel the bruises forming from his punches.

Slade on the other hand had a couple cuts I managed to give him. He had one across his leg, and some on his arms, but he was good at defending his torso. I guarantee I delivered several good punches but if he was in pain he was hiding it well, unlike me.

"Tired already Kyd? Pity, I expected much more from someone who received training from my daughter. But if you couldn't even beat a 120lb girl, what chance do you have against me?"

If this guy wanted to talk smack during a battle, I would be more than happy to oblige.

'Training wasn't the only thing I received from your daughter.'

Slade looked at me puzzled.

'For someone who has the amplified senses of an assassin, you are so oblivious to what happens in your own penthouse. I screwed you daughter.'

Instead of getting mad and irrational like any other traditional parent, Slade just stood there without a care in the world.

"I'm not that surprised. Ravager has always been promiscuous. You certainly weren't her first. But that certainly explains your poor performance against me. If you had spent as much time training as you have screwing my daughter, you wouldn't be half dead right now. You're a bigger pussy than the one between my daughter's legs."

Damn. This guy was not only an expert at hand to hand combat, but also at trash talking. I had nothing to comeback with.

'Yea… well you suck with apprentices.'

Idiot. Mammoth could have come up with a better comeback.

"I'm going to miss your inexperienced self Kyd. But like most of my apprentices, you're expendable."

Slade came at me again with such ferocity I couldn't keep up. He cut my torso again, followed by my forearms. I blocked his attempt to slice me in half only to have him kick me in the stomach again and thrust his blade in my side. Since I was already being propelled back from his kick, the blade didn't go in too deep, but it did do some damage. I was dripping blood and my vision became blurry. That was it. I was no longer capable of keeping Slade here. If he wanted to escape, I couldn't do anything about it. If he wanted to kill me, I couldn't do anything about it. I was on the floor on my knees as the dizziness overcame me. It was over, and Slade knew it too. He stood over me about a meter away.

"Before I kill you, I just wanted you to know it didn't have to be like this. We could have killed all the Titans. We could have ruled Jump city together. YOU could have had your revenge. Instead you betrayed me and for that it's going to cost you your life."

Even in my damaged state I managed to smirk.

'Guess I'm not cut out to be a villain after all.'

"With your conflicting morals Kyd, you're better off as an anti-hero. Unfortunately, you'll never be able to explore that possibility."

Slade raised his katana and I braced myself for the final strike. It never came.

"What the… Robin!"

I looked up to see Robin holding Slade in a headlock from behind. I was amazed he could move with several broken ribs and bruises all over.

"Do it Kyd!" He yelled.

Immediately I understood. This was our one chance to wound Slade and I took it. I exploded from my kneeling position and sliced with my cape blade right across his torso. I got him. My blade pierced right through his armor and did some major damage. The incision began from his left side and ventured its way across catching a part of his forearm. There was blood, lots of it.

"Aaaaarrrrg." Slade struggled and broke free of Robins hold. He walked away groggily, like a drunk leaving a pub at 12:00 in the morning.

"What have you done?" He asked. At this point we were all in a stalemate. I was pretty banged up with multiple cuts and bruises, but nothing compared to Robin. He had two broken ribs and lots of bruises from the massive beating he took from Slade earlier. And as for him, he was losing too much blood to be a threat anymore. He was dizzy and already showing symptoms of fatigue.

'It's over Slade. In a few seconds, all of the Titans will have regained mobility and they will capture you if you don't die from blood loss.'

"Oh, I'll make sure he lives. He will live in a jail cell for the rest of his life." Robin said coldly.

Slade took out his remote, that damn remote, and pressed his final button. The Immobilizer turned on, but it obviously could not release another paralyzing pulse due to me destroying the conversion component and severing its power sources from it. Instead what remained of the machine started to tick like it was on a timer.

"Again Robin, you presume too much. I always have a backup plan. The Immobilizer served its purpose well in rendering you Titans helpless. Now it will serve its final purpose as the end game. In about a minute the Immobilizer will detonate with the force of one kiloton of TNT. The Brotherhood base will be wiped out with you Titans and traitors in it."

Slade was losing a lot of blood and yet somehow, he was managing to casually walk towards the exit.

"You both have a choice to make; try to stop me or save your friends."

I hated choices. One decision could very well come back to haunt you. In this case, letting Slade go could be a major mistake. He was too dangerous to let him escape.

"Let's go Kyd!" Robin yelled as he was already draping the unconscious Starfire's arm over his shoulder and supporting her. He was right, we had no time to lose. I located Raven in a flash and started to head towards her.

"This isn't over between us Kyd Wykkyd. I promised you a fate worse than I had planned for the Titans, and that's exactly what I plan to give you. After all, I still have your frozen friends."

I stopped in my tracks and panicked. See-more, Billy, Mammoth, Gizmo… Angel. He still had them all. I couldn't afford to let him leave. As turned around and started to head towards Slade Robin grabbed my arm.

"Your friends are still in cryogenic stasis and out of harms way. So long as Slade wants to use them as leverage he will keep them alive. Right now, we need to focus on getting these Titans and ourselves to safety or all of us are going to die and there will be no one to stop Slade later."

Valid point. As much as I hated it, I had to let Slade go for now. He ventured further into the escape corridor until he was out of sight. Bastard.

'Whats the plan?' I asked.

"Your powers, can you teleport us all to safety?"

All of them? I could barely stay conscious. Truth be told I had no idea how many jumps I would be able to make before I passed out. There was no way I could do normal teleportation in which I warped with a person because if I didn't have enough strength to come out of warp, we could get stuck in limbo. I would have to open a portal for each individual Titan. I looked around and saw Cyborg who was already out of paralysis pick up both holding pods that housed Jinx and Kid Flash. Can't forget about them, right? I saw the red-haired Titan Argent use her powers to gather other members together. I guess she was planning on flying them out? Whatever they had in mind we only had seconds to do it and supposedly this bomb had one hell of an explosion radius.

'I'm far too weak to teleport all of you guys. I feel like I'm going to pass out as is. What about The Herald?'

"Still paralyzed." Argent shouted. "And only he can utilize his horn."

Dammit. The way things were looking, I was going to have to pick and choose what Titans to save because I literally had no energy. I looked at a worried Robin who was holding his girl closely. All Titans today could very well die, and it would be mostly my fault. So, I had to make things right.

'I'm sorry for everything.'

At this point I had Robin's undivided attention regardless of the ticking time bomb in the background and multiple Titans scattering about trying to help the ones still immobile.

'I just wanted you to know what it felt like to have your life put on ice, maybe forever. But Slade took things too far. I thought Titanfall was about revenge, not extermination. Although you did have payback coming to you for leaving me and my friends to our frozen fates, you all didn't deserve death. Now because of me, all of you could very well die. So, it's up to me to rectify this.'

Before Robin could respond I opened a portal beneath him and Starfire and they disappeared into the vortex. Two down, couple dozen more to go. But that one portal drained the life out of me. I tried to open another portal for Cyborg, Jinx, and Kid Flash, but my arm was literally shaking as I was concentrating.

'I can't do this alone…'

I was about to collapse onto the floor when I was caught by somebody wrapping my arm around their shoulders and supporting me military style.

"You're not alone." Raven said.

I looked at her stunned at the mere fact that she would even come near me after what I've done. But I guess the fate of the Titans was motivation enough for some teamwork.

"Get the Titans to safety."

'I can't. I barely have enough juice to stand.'

"I'll worry about that. You just concentrate on transporting the Titans."

Raven's eyes glowed white and a black aura enveloped both of us. It was odd, I could feel a little of my strength come back but that was nothing compared to the surge of power I felt when she finished her mantra.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

My powers were back, well sort of. I had no doubt in my mind that their return was solely dependent on how long Raven could keep this up. And from the looks of things she was starting to get tired. I concentrated and opened a portal big enough for Cyborg, Jinx, and Kid Flash to pass through. My final portal was about two stories tall and several meters wide. I swept my arm in a scooping motion to move the portal towards the Titans Argent had gathered together and they were taken into it like someone with a butterfly net catching insects. That was it. All the Titans were out of harms way except for Raven and me. Once the they were safe, Raven's powers ceased and both of us were fatigued once again. She lost the strength to support me, so I eased us both down to the floor gently.

I was in excruciating pain. I was bleeding, on the verge of passing out, and literally had no strength. Raven didn't look too hot either. She went well past her limits breaking free from the Immobilizer earlier, and now with amplifying my teleportation abilities.

'That was cool.' I said.

"Shut up." Raven mumbled.

I chuckled, sat up from the floor, and took in the surroundings. Things were in chaos. The machinery around us was short circuiting and there were several small fires where the bomb was. I suppose it was all part of the detonation process. We had seconds before we were blown to bits.

Raven sat up and was staring at me with this inquisitive look.

'What?' I asked.

"You gave up your revenge."

'Yea don't remind me.'

She looked almost sympathetic for my loss.

"I'm proud of you."

'Whatever Raven.'

I used my remaining strength to pick myself up from the floor. I was going to use my powers one last time to send Raven to safety. Yes, just her. I didn't have enough power to teleport both of us. As I was getting ready, Raven picked herself up as well, wobbled to where I was standing, and collapsed into my chest.

"I'll be damned if I leave you behind again."

I was touched. Last time she and the Titans had left me frozen with no intention of coming back. But unfortunately, this was the way things had to be. One of us had to live, and the world could do with one less villain, right?

'You don't have a choice.'

At those words she embraced me even harder.

This was the longest ticking time bomb I have ever had the pleasure to stand near. The timer seemed to go on for eternity as me and Raven were in our own little world. I pulled her off me just enough to plant one right on her lips. But before either of us could get into the kiss I opened a portal behind her and pushed her off me so that she fell right into it. I saw the look of horror and despair she had as she was engulfed into the black. The portal closed, and I was all alone. All the Titans should have all ended up in the same place, Titan's Tower. It was the only place I could think of in spur of the moment.

Surprisingly I was still conscious after that last teleportation but couldn't stand so I sprawled myself out on the floor. What I would give for a nap at this point, but I couldn't afford to drift off. Since I was still awake, I figured I would try to teleport myself out of there. I used every ounce of concentration I had left to teleport out of the Brotherhood's base. I saw my physical being shift for a second and phase back to normal state. I wasn't going anywhere. Oh well, worth a try.

As the bomb neared its detonation, multiple smaller explosions started to go off in the complex. Pieces of metal were being blasted everywhere and the light fixtures in the ceiling were shattering. Shards of glass were everywhere, and I was in the middle of all of it. This wasn't going to be a pleasant way to die.

I thought back to when I first came out of cryogenic stasis and remembered how happy I was to be able to move again. But more importantly I was given a chance for revenge. And I threw it all away for a girl. Well maybe it was more complicated than that. I certainly wasn't cut out to be a hardcore villain like Slade that's for sure. On the rooftop of her apartment, Jinx told me how being a Titan gave her life meaning. I think I sort of understand what she meant. Saving all those Titans today certainly gave me a sense of satisfaction. And the kiss I gave Raven before I sent her off, I knew I could die happy.

My vision blurred, and I felt myself passing out as I heard the bomb go off.


	24. Hive Mind: Resurgence

**CH24: Resurgence**

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Ironically, I had traded in my vengeance to save the Titans from Slade and almost died for it… almost.

All I could hear as I was coming to were the sounds of machines. I heard a heart monitor in the background as well as an oxygen dispenser. As I regained consciousness and my blurred vision cleared, I saw that I was in an infirmary. It was dim and the lights from the monitors and machines acted as the main sources of light in the room. I looked myself over and saw that I was still in my costume; my singed, cut up, destroyed costume. I smelled mildly like ash and I had some minor burns. In my right arm was an IV and in my left hand on the index finger was the pulse monitor.

What happened? Last I remembered I had teleported Raven to safety and was unable to transport myself before the bomb went off. So how am I still alive?

I tried to move and realized that both my wrists were handcuffed to the bars of the infirmary bed.

'You've got to be kidding.'

Having regained my strength, I teleported myself next to the handle bars of the bed so that I had something to grab onto once I was afoot. I had left the handcuffs as well as the medical equipment that were previously attached to me behind on the bed. I walked to the door and realized it was locked. Of course it was. Why on earth would the room to a major supervillain be unlocked? I teleported on the other side only to realize I was in a larger part of the infirmary. The room I was in must be for villains or dangerous people that they wanted to keep safely isolated.

I looked around and saw several infirmary beds separated by black curtains. The two cots closest to the window had Jinx and Kid Flash, but the one next to them bedded the orange skinned Titan, Starfire. She also was hooked up to a heart monitor and had an IV attached to her. Only her IV was red. Guess she needed blood ASAP. Makes sense since I cut her up badly. She did look a lot better than last I saw her. Many of her cuts were healed and her heart rate appeared to be healthy.

The fact that three Titans were here with me meant I was in Titan Tower. I exited the med bay and entered a corridor which utilized glass as the wall. I saw the water surrounding the tower and could even see the Jump City port. It was a gorgeous view. I had been underground in the Brotherhood Base the last couple days waiting for Titanfall to take place and have not seen the clear sky for quite some time.

I wandered around the base for a couple minutes until I came upon the doors to the main ops room where all the Titans usually hang out in. On the other side I heard multiple voices.

"There is no sign of him. We checked the penthouse and his old bases in Jump City and all of them turned up a big wad of nothing." Cyborg said.

"Raven, maybe you can probe Kyd's mind again. There could be a secret location you missed."

"No way Robin. I already violated his trust once by searching his mind without permission. Besides, if there was a secret location, I would have found it within his mind the first time I probed it. The fact that I didn't means that Slade didn't tell him."

Robin rolled his eyes. "So we're back to square one. I was hoping the information you extracted from Kyd's mind would be enough to find Slade. Instead the search was a waste of time."

"Not necessarily. I mean we did eliminate the areas where Slade isn't right? Meaning he's on the run looking for a new base of operations. At least we have a little bit of time before he strikes again." Beast Boy chimed in.

"He was very serious about his threat to Kyd Wykkyd. With an army of villains behind him there is little he can't do to get even with him for his betrayal." Raven said.

"Yea, about that. I don't think Kyd should stay here. I'm grateful for him saving us. But he did almost get all of the Titans killed."

"It was all Slade. He had his scheme and was going to carry it out regardless of who helped him. He was just using Kyd and his powers to make the plan come together quicker. He used his hate and thirst for revenge to meet his own needs. Slade would have had us trapped one way or another. Let's just be thankful Kyd was a part of his plan because without him we surely would have been at his mercy without any hope."

There was silence in the room for a good couple of seconds. Raven had a point. It didn't matter who Slade used. Hell, it didn't even matter if he had an extra apprentice or not. Slade would have carried out his plan one way or another. They were certainly lucky I was there to get them out of his trap after I had a change of heart.

"Kyd stays here. We need all the help we can get to combat Slade especially if he mobilizes the army of villains against us. And if he refuses to help and creates a problem for us, I will incapacitate him myself." Raven asserted.

After a bit of hesitation, Robin finally caved.

"Alright. He can stay."

I know at this point I should have been grateful that Robin was cool with me staying here. But the truth of the matter was I was pissed. First Ravager invaded my privacy physically, and now I find out Raven had violated my privacy mentally. Not only that, but they had me chained up like a criminal. Well I was one technically. And maybe I did deserved the handcuffs especially after all the trouble I caused for them. I wasn't sure how to feel. I was too lost in thought to notice the main doors opening right in front of me revealing a startled Raven, Robin, Beast Boy, and Cyborg.

"Don't move." Robin ordered.

I saw Cyborg turn his arm into a blaster while Robin took out a birderang.

I was stunned for a moment. Didn't they just agree to let me stay? Then again, I guess they still expected me to be handcuffed to the infirmary bed, not up and about right outside their ops room. Raven was getting the situation under control but I didn't care. I quickly wrapped my cape around myself and teleported out of the tower. Right now, I just needed some time to myself. I needed to think.

…

I had wandered around Jump City for quite some time. Nothing like a kid in a bat-like costume roaming public streets in broad daylight. Aside from the curious stares and the occasional pre-pubescent toddler shouting "look it's Batman", it was very peaceful. I had eventually made my way to our old Hive base, you know, the one Kid Flash destroyed. At least the doors were still automated. They were still functional and when I went inside I saw the biggest mess I've seen since the bedroom me and Ravager demolished a couple days ago.

'Just as we left it.'

I had a lot to think about. I wanted to find my friends. The other villains I didn't really care for. But Billy, See-More, Mammoth, Gizmo, and Angel were a different story. We go way back to the days where the Hive Academy was still enrolling students. Heck, when it still had an actual building. The Titans destroyed the school twice. The first one was destroyed when we were under the Hive headmistress. The second time they destroyed the school was when we were under Brother Blood. It was brutal both times. For some villains including myself, the Academy was our home. We had nowhere to go after the destruction of the schools, we would kind of just wander from place to place. That was the time me and Angel's relationship was at its best. We were an unstoppable team. I would be the stealth, and she would be the muscle. Believe it or not, she was super strong. Maybe not as strong as an amazon, but she has pounded Mammoth into the ground on occasion.

During my reminiscence I had since put back together the main ops room. The monitor screens were back in place though some were cracked. The couch was back in the center and all other messes in the living room were cleaned up. It was doable. Now I just needed power. I passed the jail cell we had previously put Kid Flash in as I made my way down the stairs towards the power room. Inside laid the generator which Kid Flash severed the cables to. I wasn't Gizmo, but any novice would know that once the connection was welded together again, power would flow through the wires as usual.

I looked around for a welding torch and used it to seal the repaired wires to the main generator using the metal plating designed to hold each thick cable in place. I reactivated the generator; Lord and behold there was power once again. I went back up to the main ops room and situated myself on the semicircle couch in front of the giant TV. Surprisingly enough it was one of the things that Kid Flash didn't break when he escaped our custody.

I took out one of the four controllers we had, turned on the Gamestation, and started playing the racing simulator Billy was obsessed with. My friends were still out there at Slade's mercy, but right now I needed to take my mind off everything or I would go crazy. So much has happened in the little time I have been unfrozen. Besides, I was the only villain left in Jump City. If I even showed my face in public I would get owned by Titans in a heartbeat.

Since I began playing the game, my mind slowly began to unwind and my demeanor became calmer. All my troubles were drowned out by the game until trouble itself came right through main door of the base.

"I wasn't sure if you would actually be here."

Raven's entrance caught me completely off guard. How the hell did she know about the location of our headquarters?

'I want to know how you knew where our base was.' I looked at her and gave her the stink eye.

"It's a giant yellow building in the shape of an 'H'. Do you realize how embarrassing it would be if we didn't know where it was?"

'Good point.'

"Besides, we make it our business to know where our enemies are located."

'Why didn't you guys ever storm in here and arrest us?'

"Because when you guys are here just hanging out not robbing anything, we don't really care what you do. Most of your downfalls took place when you were attempting to rob a place so there really was no reason to storm your base."

'I guess not.'

For the next few minutes there was nothing but the sound of the revving engines and increased rpms on the cars I was driving in the game. If I thought it was awkward before, it was even more so when Raven came and sat down next to me, grabbing a game controller off the floor, and joining the race.

'Do you even know how to play?'

"I can handle myself."

'Uhuh…' It took about half a minute before I lapped Raven with my car and led the race in first. Then somehow as I was on the final lap, Raven had managed to drive the opposite way she was supposed to resulting in her being in not only last place, but with -1 laps. I didn't even know having negative laps was possible until today.

'Dude you are awful at this game.'

"Shut up. I read books in my spare time, not fry my brain with video games."

'Still. Even Jinx wasn't this bad.' I chuckled. I came in first and the game went back to the main menu. With Raven in the room and the match over, my mind returned to its stressed-out state. But amid all the questions I had, one in particular needed answering like yesterday.

'How am I alive?'

Raven scowled at me. "Why did you only teleport me? We could have escaped together."

'No, we couldn't have. I was running on empty. I barely had any power to send you to Titan tower, much less both of us.'

"I could have amplified your power again."

'You were half dead. No way was I going to let you harm yourself even more on my behalf.'

"That wasn't your decision to make."

'Yes it was! I got you Titans into that mess. So it was my responsibility to get you out. I sacrificed myself for all of you.'

"And yet here we are."

I could tell what she was getting at. My sacrifice would have meant more had I actually died. Since I clearly wasn't dead, she was giving me a piece of her mind.

"After I found myself at Titan Tower and realized everyone was safe but you, I raced against the clock and found The Herald, who thank the Lord was no longer paralyzed. After I explained the situation I used my powers to implant the exact location where I last saw you at into his mind. He then used his horn to open a portal right next to you. I pulled you in as quick as I could but let me tell you, it was a close call. The bomb went off as soon as the portal came into focus so I had to act fast. I'm not exaggerating when I say that some debris and smoke made its way out of the portal as I saved you."

'Damn…' I really appreciated what she did. After all, I loved pizza too much to die. But after hearing what Raven did for me, pizza might have some competition. Oh who was I kidding. If I kind of liked Raven before, I was in love with her now. I know she looked pissed on the outside, but if she had the same feelings I had for her, it was all a front.

'Thank you for saving me'

Raven's scowl lessened and eventually faded altogether.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I told you, I wasn't about to leave you behind again."

'True but you did go through such great lengths to keep that promise. Why?'

Raven's scowl returned but it quickly faltered as I inched closer to her. It was to the point where our noses were millimeters apart. I leaned in for the kill shot and as our lips connected, it was as if fireworks were going off. It was actually Raven's black aura but the effects were similar in nature. Her emotions were setting off her powers, that much was evident. I pulled away and immediately Raven ruined the moment.

"We need to talk."

Goddammit.

"Slade is still out there. No doubt he will utilize the frozen villain against us in some way. That being said, sooner or later, we will find your friends. The only question remaining is, would you rather find them as a Titan alongside us, or as a villain in a jail cell?"

They wouldn't lock me up would they?

"Mark my words, if you don't agree to our terms for staying with us, feelings or not, I will lock you up myself. So what's it going to be?"

I thought about it for a second. On one hand I could very well avoid capture. My powers make me pretty much untouchable. However, if I had both the Titans and Slade hunting me down, I wouldn't last very long on my own. My best bet was to partner up with them, at least for the time being, until Slade was defeated.

'Fine, I'll join you Titans if only because I want to be involved in the search for my friends. But don't mistake that for membership. Once Slade is defeated and my friends are safe, I can't guarantee I'll stick around.'

A small but noticeable smile appeared on Raven's gorgeous face.

"That's fine by me. But who knows, in time, you may even enjoy being a Titan."

Pfft, yea right. Who would enjoy being a goody two shoe? Certainly not me right?

Raven was the first to stand. She helped me up and led us towards the main entrance. Step after step she never once let go of my hand. Guess we were an item now? Truth was I had no actual clue how she felt about me. We would have to sort that out once we were back at Titan Tower. We hadn't gone more than twenty feet from the Hive base when Raven suddenly stopped resulting in me bumping into her. My daydreams faded and it registered that she was in a battle stance, meaning there was a hostile nearby.

'What's wrong?' I asked.

When I saw who she was looking at, I froze for a second. The meta-human before us wore a suit with a white and green color scheme. His green helmet housed his singular, large eye giving him the impression of a teenage cyclops.

'See-More?' I asked hesitantly. This was too good to be true. Had my best friend somehow escaped from Slade and made his way back to our base? My heart sank when See-More proceeded to change his eye from normal vision, to his laser scope, and aim his gaze directly at me and Raven.


	25. Hive Mind: Cyclops

**CH25: Cyclops**

The laser blast fired right at us and I was stunned that See-More attacked us. I grabbed Raven and we hit the floor narrowly missing the beam from the cyclops' eye.

'See-More! What's wrong with you?' I picked myself up from the ground and circled the perimeter all the while he kept trying to blast me. Every one of his misses left a good-sized crater in the ground. For all the while See-More tried to incinerate me, he didn't even seem to notice Raven. That served to our advantage.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Raven shattered the earth beneath him, levitated it, and brought all elements down in one fell swoop trapping See-More in the dirt. She then enveloped the cyclops in a dark magic bubble like the one she encased me in during operation Titanfall. He was trapped, or so I thought. He toggled the visor on his helmet to utilize his force bubbles. All it took was one eye-like expanding force field to eventually stress Raven's barrier into nonexistence. He then shot two entrapment spheres straight at us. I dodged the one meant for me but Raven being disoriented from her barrier failing was trapped within the eye spheroid.

"Dammit." She said annoyed. Using her powers, she tore through the entrapment shield quite easily. She ripped up several trees from their roots and launched them at See-More.

The cyclops dodged the falling debris with ease and began firing his eye-shaped slingshot stones at her. They functioned as mini grenades creating craters in the earth with each barrage he launched. Some of the crushed rock hit Raven and as See-More shifted his vision to his laser scope about to take the kill shot, I teleported right behind him, put him in a headlock hold, and warped both of us into the air.

We emerged about fifty yards above the ground and I could see a nice patch of trees and bushes he would soon be well acquainted with.

'I don't know what's wrong with you buddy, but I can't have you trying to kill us. So sorry in advance.'

I let See-More go and kicked him in the back making him fall even faster towards the foliage I directed him towards. The sound of branches breaking and leaves rustling echoed until a faint 'thud' was emitted when he finally hit the ground.

I teleported next to Raven and made sure she was okay. She was a tough girl, just a little scratched up due to all the explosions she has endured the last few minutes. We both directed our attention to the foliated area where trees were being knocked down by the bunches. A red beam shot out from the bushes narrowly missing us and hitting the Hive base.

'Hey! I just fixed the place up!' I exclaimed.

See-More emerged covered in some branches and a bird's nest on his shoulder. Even in the pressing situation I couldn't help but chuckle. But the humorous moment didn't last long due to the cyclops' eye glowing dark red. It was a charged attack and the laser emitted from his visor this time around was more destructive than the previous blasts.

The continuous, thick laser created a small trench in the earth where me and Raven once were. I jumped out of the way since I didn't have enough time to teleport while Raven shot into the air. I was distraught when I noticed the beam closing in on me. It felt as if I was running as fast as Kid Flash. When your whole life flashes in front of you, the body can do some amazing feats. While I was busy avoiding See-More's laser beam of doom, Raven surrounded two good sized boulders that were on opposite sides of the cyclops. She brought her hands together in a chest press exercise motion and both rocks sandwiched See-More. I was grateful that the laser beam was no longer about to incinerate me but dude, that was still my friend she just smashed.

'Dude! What is wrong with you? We don't want to kill the guy!'

"He's far from dead." Raven retorted.

She was right. Amidst the rubble of the dust and smashed rocks was a yellow protective bubble which shielded the cyclops from being crushed. I was relieved that my best friend wasn't turned into a pancake, but the feeling was short lived when he began firing giant eye projectiles into the air. I got hit by one and the viscosity of it was incredible. It sent my flying into another one, and I got launched into another one after that. Both me and Raven were bouncing back and forth between the bouncy projectile like a pinball machine and I've had enough. I landed on the next eye-looking projectile feet first and utilized my cape to teleport several feet behind See-More. At the speed I was heading towards him, a good hit to the back of the head should knock him out cold.

(BAM)

The cyclops skidded across the ground like a rock being skipped on the surface of a pond. With no more projectiles being emitted from the meta-human's helmet, Raven was able to readjust herself and join me on the ground. We both were shocked as we saw See-More struggle to pick himself up clearly not out cold. When he turned to face us, the eye on his visor was cracked. It was over. The visor was his main weapon and without it he couldn't put up any kind of a fight.

"It's over." Raven said. "Now why don't you tell us what's going on. Why did you attack us?"

I also wanted to know why my best friend went crazy on us. You don't just show up after a couple week of being frozen and suddenly start attacking two Titans. Did I just call myself a Titan? Goddammit. Regardless, I needed to know what was going on in See-More's head.

'Why did you attack us See-More?' I repeated Raven's question.

A moment of silence passed before the most wicked smirk appeared on See-More's face. Within seconds of the smirk showing up he started laughing.

"I told you." He said.

'Told me what?'

"I told you your fate would be worse than what I had planned for the Titans."

"Slade?" I was stunned. I didn't think he would try anything so soon. It's only been a few days since operation Titanfall failed. And now he was back and somehow controlling my friend.

"I told you that you would rue the day you betrayed me. I will send your former friends after you and should you manage to beat them, they become obsolete. Like this one here."

'I'm going to kick your ass!'

"Don't worry Kyd. We'll see each other very soon. But not before I completely break you down using your former comrades."

Raven looked as worried as I was. How was Slade controlling See-More? And did he have the rest of the frozen villain under his control? If that was the case, why did he only send See-More after us? To torture me that's why. Making me attack my best friend to protect my love interest was a cruel ploy even for Slade.

"In a few days you will wish I never rescued you from your cryogenic fate. See you soon Kyd."

See-More just stood there for awhile before he looked around seemingly confused.

"Uuuughhh… Where am I?" He asked.

'See-More? Are you… you?'

"Kyd? Where am I? How did I get here?"

Within a nanosecond of his last question, Raven and I looked in horror as See-More started to let out a blood curdling scream. His body was discharging some form of electricity and his body shook like he was short circuiting. When it was over he started to fall. I ran to catch him preventing him from hitting his head on the ground.

'See-More?' Was he dead? Holy shit this can't be happening.

I looked at Raven with a face that begged her to analyze my friend. Her eyes glowed white and she gave me a diagnosis which worried me deeply.

"He's alive but I'm not getting any brain activity. He could die if he doesn't receive medical treatment."

I grabbed Raven's hand and warped all three of us back to Titan Tower. We rushed See-More to the med bay which the other supers were confined in. We turned the corner and refusing to use the door kicked the whole thing down. Luckily for us, Cyborg, Robin, and Beast Boy were already in the med bay looking over Starfire. They were shocked to see both of us beat up and carrying a near dead See-More.

I looked at them on the verge of tearing up and begged them for their assistance.

'Please… help him.'

Without hesitation, Cyborg took See-More from me and began to work his magic.


	26. Hive Mind: Honorary Titan

**CH26: Honorary Titan**

It's been hours since Cyborg disappeared into the med bay with See-More. Since then I have replaced my tattered costume with a spare I kept at the Hive base. Being all cleaned up and refreshed from our battle earlier, I couldn't help but feel antsy knowing that the war with Slade was just beginning. Back at the Brotherhood base he did threaten to use my friends against me. But this was the last thing I was expecting.

See-More was in bad shape when I last saw him due to the electrical discharge that emanated from the inside of his body. Was that Slade's means of controlling him? He was now fighting for his life because of it and I had a feeling there was more to come.

Raven was with me in the main ops room and she looked annoyed due to me constantly pacing back and forth the way a father-to-be does while his wife is in labor.

"You know, Cyborg is very knowledgeable of human anatomy. In fact, he is very intelligent in many fields of expertise. There's little he can't fix both human and machine. Your friend is going to be fine."

Fine? Yea, easy for her to say. She wasn't the one who went to school with him. She wasn't the one who spent several years with him on missions and shared badass villainous moments with. I couldn't stand feeling helpless.

'He is my best friend. If he doesn't make it… I don't know what I'd do.' Raven got up from the couch and stopped me from pacing. She held my hand and locked eyes with me.

"Cyborg is the best. If anyone can stabilize your friend, it's him."

A few minutes later the ops room doors opened and in came Cyborg and Beast Boy. I shot up from the couch much to Raven's annoyance due to her head resting on my shoulder.

'How is he?' I asked eagerly. Cyborg looked like he had been working for hours. The human half of him was covered in sweat and he looked tired.

"He's in a coma. After I located the source of trauma, I had to perform emergency surgery."

'Surgery? Is he alright?'

Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other with concern.

"See-More narrowly survived whatever discharged inside him. The source originated in his spinal cord and it appeared to be metallic. I removed most of the melted metal that fused to it, but some residue remains. I injected a dissolvent to the contaminated area and it should be completely dissolved in a couple hours.

'That's great…'

"However, your fiend suffered major trauma to the nerves in his spinal cord. It's a miracle he's alive all things considered."

'So, what are you saying?'

"The damage needs to be repaired, otherwise See-More might be paralyzed or not even wake up from his coma. I'll have to repair the damaged nerves and restore the connections to their respected synapses."

"Is that even possible? I mean, can you do it?" Raven inquired.

"I can't, but I know someone who can walk me through the process. Robin is contacting him now."

'You're getting Batman to repair synapses?' I asked skeptical. He was the world's greatest detective, not a neurosurgeon.

"Not the bat, a friend of his. Ray Palmer."

'Who?'

"That's smart. He'll definitely be able to help out." Raven said matter a factly.

'Am I the only one who has no idea what's going on?' I asked exasperated. I was so not being kept in the loop.

"All you need to know is that with Ray Palmer helping Cyborg, See-More will be at 100% in a matter of time."

Guess that was good enough. Based on the secrecy revolving around Ray Palmer, I had no doubt in my mind that he had a superhero alter ego. But if he could help See-More I could live with the secrecy.

'I appreciate all that you've done. Thank you.'

Cyborg nodded and left with Beast Boy not far behind leaving Raven and I all alone. While normally I'd be taking advantage of an opportunity like this, See-More fighting for his life really didn't set the mood. The next thing I knew, Raven was heading out the same doors the other Titans went through.

"C'mon, I know something that will cheer you up, or at least lighten the mood."

We trekked a couple stories higher and made our way down several hallways passing by all the other Titan's rooms; Robin's, Cyborg's, Starfire's, Raven's, and Beast Boy's.

"You are a Titan as long as you are under our roof. This means that as long as you stay with us, you will not commit any crimes or act without instruction. No solo missions trying to hunt down Slade; we are a team. No quarreling with the other Titans regardless of history; we are a team. And on a more personal note, if you are caught perving on any of the female Titans, there will be hell to pay."

'You included?'

"I have to keep up appearances. Crush or otherwise, if I catch you spying on me, I will blast you into orbit."

'You're no fun…'

"Oh trust me, the re-entry into the atmosphere will be more thrilling than a ride at Six Flags. How's that for FUN."

'Anyone tell you that you should be on those roasting comedy shows?'

"Kyd, I'm serious! If you violate these rules or create a problem for the Titans, Robin will have no problem locking you up for real this time."

'I'll do my best.'

"That's all I ask."

We kept walking until we came upon a more isolated room that was set apart from the others. Across from the powered doors was the elevator which took you down to the main ops room. To the east were the stairs leading up to the roof and volleyball court. Raven was the first to enter with me in tow and I was stunned at how large the room was. It was a large open room with the walls and ceiling painted with an outdoor nighttime theme that suited me perfectly. In the center was a king sized round bed with light purple colored linens and to the west was a balcony where you could overlook the bay and part of Jump City.

"This is where you will be staying."

'It's nice. I like it." On the coffee table I saw a silver heart shaped jewelry box. I surmised I was not the first to stay in this room.

"I assume someone used to live here before me?'

The atmosphere changed as soon as I touched on the subject. There was an awkward moment of silence and Raven's face said that she didn't want to talk about it.

"This used to be Terra's room. Now it's not."

'That's the girl that betrayed you guys, right?'

"It's complicated."

'That bad huh?'

"We took her in, made her family, and she betrayed us."

Raven recalled the memory with such blatancy I almost forgot she had emotions. I could tell this was a touchy subject for not just her, but for all the Titans.

"However, she later ended up betraying her mentor Slade as I'm sure you know. She ended up sacrificing herself to save all of us."

'But she's back now right? After all, Slade seemed to know about her whereabouts when he contacted you before Titanfall took place.'

"And that is where it gets complicated."

'Oh…'

We locked eyes and I could tell she was done talking about this.

"This was Terra's room, now it's not. This is where you'll be staying."

'Jeez I get it. Touchy subject. Point taken.'

I made my way over to the king-sized bed that was at my disposal and plopped myself onto it. Raven took a subtler approach as she joined me on the mattress and sat next to me with her legs crossed. I looked up at her and saw a faint pink come over her cheeks.

'What?' I asked.

"Nothing." She responded quickly.

Raven could be really distant at times. That mixed with her emotions and awkwardness, it occurred to me that she might not have very much experience with guys.

'You don't do this often do you?'

"Do what?"

'Bring a guy back to your place?' I teased.

If she had a faint blush earlier, she was full on tomato red now.

"Wha… I didn't bring you back to my place. All the Titans live here. And besides, technically this is your room. If anything, YOU brought me back to YOUR place!"

'Oh come on Raven. I can't be the first. Surely there must have been some other guys in your life at one point before you met me.'

I was such an idiot. Here I was with my love interest on the same bed and I had to bring up past relationships. I definitely wasn't getting any tonight, that's for sure! Raven's blush had since faded and she was staring intensely at the wall.

"There were a couple. Nothing came from them thought. There was this goth dude I met at a party. Good for conversation but wasn't very empathetic. Never dated him though. Then there was this more… serious commitment I made."

Okay, she had my attention. What crazy ex-boyfriend would I have to hunt down and beat up?

"From the moment we met, our relationship was a lie. His name was Rorek, or so I thought. The actual Rorek was a wizard who fought and imprisoned an ancient dragon named Malchior within the confines of a book I owned. I came to find this out as I finished the story and over time he earned my trust, maybe even, a little more than that. I eventually set out to find the ultimate spell which would break the curse of the book and free him from his prison. I was successful. But it wasn't Rorek whom I freed, it was Malchior. He deceived me and switched the names of the characters in the book and used my emotions to get his freedom. I had my heart broken that day."

What do you say in a situation like this? Sorry your first love interest was a complete let down? That really sucks? Like seriously, what would anyone say in a situation like this? I awkwardly put my hand on her shoulder in efforts to console her.

'Boys suck don't they?'

"He wasn't a boy, he was a dragon." She said matter a factly.

I stared at her and anime sweat dropped. She was absolutely right. That's what I get for trying to lighten the mood. Nonetheless, she covered the hand I had on her shoulder with hers.

"In retrospect, you haven't been that sucky. So I guess not all 'boys' are that bad right?"

'Guess not. I mean I did save your life multiple times. So I guess I am pretty great.'

The mood was totally ruined again. Besides the extra weight of my swollen head that grew a few sizes due to my ego, I could also feel the death glare Raven was giving me.

"Oh no. We are not having this conversation."

'I'm just saying…'

"Don't forget, half the life-threatening situations you saved me from were your fault to begin with. The Void, the Daemonites in The Bleed, and Slade's Immobilizer bomb! All of them had a common denominator; You."

Just like that I felt my head shrink back to normal. I felt sheepish and didn't really have anything to say. Again she was right. Those things were partially my fault. But I made up for my mistakes.

'Hey, it all worked out didn't it? And I did atone for every one of those mistakes, didn't I?'

Raven's scowl turned into an emotionless stare.

"Yea I guess you have. I mean here we are right? Alive and well."

'Yea, focus on that.'

I caressed the grey skinned mystic's cheek and leaned in for a kiss. It lasted about a minute. The entire time I was running every possible scenario in my mind should the situation escalate. There was no way Raven was going to make a move, meaning it was all up to me. It could end one of two ways; great passionate sex with the current girl of my dreams, or I would get beaten into a pulp for trying. Both my train of thought and our passionate moment were rudely interrupted by Cyborg walking into the room. So much for keeping up appearances.

There was good amount of awkward silence before anyone said anything. Cyborg had a look of shock on his face and Raven's grey cheeks were flushed pink. I on the other hand was irked.

'Ever hear of knocking tin man?'

"Errr, umm sorry Kyd. Just wanted to give you guys the news."

'News?'

"The metal on See-More's spine, I was able to salvage some of the circuitry inside it and put it back together."

'Circuitry?'

"It's a neurological transmitter. It's how Slade was controlling your friend."

"Robin kind of deduced that already. He figured there had to be a signal being received from an unknown location." Raven chimed in now having regained her usual composure. Seriously, no one tells me anything. You would think these types of facts would be need to know especially when it is YOUR friend who's in an infirmary bed.

"Correct, but up till now we had no way of locating the source of that signal. Now that the circuitry has been reconstructed, we can."

'Cyborg, are you saying…'

"Yea, we are one step closer to finding Slade, and your friends."


	27. Hive Mind: Grudge Match

**CH26: Grudge Match**

Raven and I followed Cyborg to the main ops room where the rest of the Teen Titans were, and I felt the tension in the air immediately. Starfire was fully recovered and as soon as I set foot in the room her eyes began to glow green. The only thing that kept her from blasting my head off was Robin who grabbed her shoulder and shook his head to object. The Tamaranian looked good for someone who recently lost most of her blood. She was wearing her signature revealing costume and amidst the exposed sections you could see some scarring where I had made my incisions during our battle in Titanfall.

Jinx and Kid Flash were also fully recovered and on guard. Jinx's body language was more at ease, but both her and Kid Flash never took their glare's off me. Like seriously, take a picture, it lasts longer. I've been in some pretty awkward situations. I remembered the school dance in which there was a brawl between Jinx and Angel due to a crude exchanging of words regarding who was the better villainess and thus best suited for me. There was the time where Billy and Mammoth swapped the gender signs to the locker rooms and I ended up walking in on Cheshire and Paper in little more than their birthday suits. That was fun explaining to Angel. The awkwardness from both those past memories didn't come close to the intensity of the situation I was experiencing CURRENTLY. Half the team was tolerant of me being here, the other half wanted to kill me, or at least lock me up. The force of their stares lessened when they noticed Raven glaring right back at them.

"He's here to stay, deal with it." She said.

"She's right. Kyd is our ally. Regardless of history, we need to work together if we want to bring Slade down." Robin added.

The staring contest ended, and all our focuses turned to the image on the monitor the boy wonder pulled up.

"Thanks to Cyborg we were able to salvage and put back together the control chip embedded in See-More's spine. It's not brand new, but it's functional and still receiving a signal. After piggybacking off the carrier wave, we managed to narrow down the source of the signal."

'Narrow down? Do we not have an exact location?' I asked.

"Unfortunately no. Slade is using some kind of scrambler preventing us from pinpointing an exact location. He can't flat out use a signal dampener because he needs his hardware to receive the initial toggling from his home base. We narrowed the area down to a three-mile radius outside of Jump City. It's a warehouse district near the waterfront. It has boat hangars, manufacturing facilities, storage tanks, and underground silos. Slade could virtually be hiding out anywhere within this radius." Robin explained.

"Wonderful. It's a game of hide and seek then?" Raven didn't look too thrilled about the size of the search area. Most likely we would have to split up to cover more ground.

'If we don't win this game of hide and seek, people could get hurt.' I said.

"Other than Titans you mean?" Kid Flash retorted. I made direct eye contact with him and we glared daggers at each other.

'You got a problem?'

"Yea, all of us do. Because of you, almost all the Titans died at the hands of Slade…"

"And it's because of him why we managed to SURVIVE Slade! Had he chosen a different apprentice less morally inclined to do the right thing, we might not be here right now." Raven defended me.

"Raven has a point. Like it or not, Kyd is a part of this team for now. Think you can handle that Wally?" Robin asked.

"Whatever." Kid Flash retorted. Both he and Starfire seemed a little irked with how things unfolded; me ending up a part of the team somehow. With Starfire's personality, I could tell in time she would forgive me for cutting her open like a sardine can. But as for Kid Flash, he was holding a grudge. Thanks to Cyborg the attention was refocused back to the battle strategy.

"Let's not forget, the only thing we are sure of is that this location is where the signal for the control chip is emanating from. There is no guarantee that Slade will be present. For all we know, it's only an outpost, not his main base of operations. Most of the other Titans have gone back to their home cities just in case Slade decides to pull something there. The Titans East are currently busy in Steel City following up on some robberies pertaining to government grade technology. We think it's Slade related. With the other members indisposed, we are it. We'll go in, destroy whatever operation he has set up there, and with any luck, end this war with Slade once and for all."

I couldn't wait for this war to be over either. The quicker it ended, the less of a chance there was for more of my friends to become involved.

"As previously stated, the search area has a three-mile radius. We will have to split up to cover more ground. Cyborg and I will search the waterfront and boat hangars. Beast Boy and Raven, you two will search the underground silos and passages. Starfire, Jinx, you will check the storage tanks and factories." Robin strategized.

Of, fucking, course. I had to be the one stuck with lightning boxers here.

"Kyd Wykkyd and Kid Flash, you two will search the manufacturing facilities and warehouses. Your powers give you an edge over the rest of us in the sense that you will be able to search more quickly and efficiently." Robin ordered. "If there are any problems between you two, I will find out and deal with you both later. Understood?"

Kid Flash and I just glared at each other. Robin made a great tactician. Speed and teleportation would indeed help us search the larger area quicker than the rest. But I didn't like it one bit. I'd much rather be partnered up with Beast Boy, and he's annoying as hell.

"Titan's GO!" We all followed Robin to the T-Ship and headed out.

…

It had been about fifteen minutes since we had arrived at the search site. The groups split up and began searching their zones, and ours was huge! Three-mile radius huh? It might as well have been downtown Metropolis! Everywhere I looked there were warehouses that were boarded up and manufacturing facilities that had since been shut down. This place was a ghost town. I had been searching the area with a very annoying Kid Flash. Every time I finished searching a warehouse or facility, he would reinspect it himself and comment on how sloppy I was in my search.

"Seriously dude. How do you expect to find clues to Slade's whereabouts if you skip over rooms?"

'I don't skip over anything. I teleport inside, find nothing, and come back out.'

"Sure you do." Kid Flash retorted. He sped off to the next warehouse and I teleported not far behind. This guy was pissing me off.

I heard the wind being moved as Kid Flash conducted his speedy search of the facility. When he was finished he stood in the center of the floor looking all proud.

"Seriously Kyd, why don't you go help the others. You're only slowing me down."

I teleported right in front startling him to the point where he backed off a couple feet. I tilted my head in a mocking manner, reached for the obvious rug on the floor, and pulled it right out from under him. Not only did Kid Flash land on his ass, it also revealed a hidden door embedded in the floor.

I smirked at Kid Flash. 'Now who's sloppy?'

Kid Flash looked irked as I opened the door and made my way down the winding staircase. The passageway was dusty and full of cobwebs. It seems that no one has been down here for a while.

"You know we don't need you. We can find Slade and the rest of the bad guys just fine on our own. It still amazes me that Robin allowed you to join the team instead of landing you in a jail cell."

'I'm not part of the team.'

"Oh that's right. You're an 'honorary' Titan. Whatever that means. You know Raven is misguided by her emotions. Had it been any other villain, she wouldn't have stuck up for them like she did with you."

'Yea she's something special.'

"She's wasting her time if she expects you to become a good guy or if she thinks she can talk you out of a life of crime."

'Isn't that what you did with Jinx?'

There was silence for the next couple of seconds before Kid Flash responded

"Jinx is different. She had the potential to change."

'Doesn't everybody?'

"The problem is, I don't see you wanting to change. Didn't you tell Raven that once we save your villain friends you would go back to how things were?"

'I said I'd think about it.'

We entered a good-sized room with pipes and gauges everywhere. There was a central control panel near the mother pipe that fed the others. My guess was that this room controlled the flow of water to the rest of the buildings.

"Face it Kyd, if you don't make effort to change, you never will. Jinx actually made an effort. And if I know my Jinx, she will continue to do good things with her life."

This guy never shut up. He was pushing every button imaginable and I was tired of it.

'Your Jinx? You've known her less than three months and already you're that sure or your relationship?'

"Yea that's why me and her are so intimate while you and Raven are struggling to even put a label on whatever it is you guys are."

Oh, that did it. If I was irked before, I was PISSED now.

'Tell me, did none of the female Titans want you? Was it so bad that you would make such efforts to recruit a villainess as your temporary ball and chain?'

"You're just pissed she betrayed you for a badass like me."

'See, it can't be that simple. The Hive Five might have annoyed her at times, but we were practically family. Whatever lies you fed her to steal her from us and get in her pants must have been pretty intricate. Because who would ever want to be hitched to an insecure loudmouth who constantly tries to reassure himself he is not a total failure compared to the real Flash.'

"You better watch you say…"

'Does it ever bother her?'

"What?"

'You being one of the fastest men alive? I mean it can't be good for the extracurricular activities you all do at night can it. Bet you go at it like a rabbit not caring about her so long as your needs are met.'

"You little…"

'What's the difference between you and a rollercoaster?'

"…"

'A rollercoaster can actually make Jinx scream. And so did I when I screwed her in the Hive Academy.'

I made it sound more promiscuous than I intended. After all, the sex Jinx and I had was only the by-product of the weirdest initiation I had ever experienced getting into that school. It was such a long time ago and she'd kick my ass for bringing it up, but I needed something to piss Kid Flash off. It worked.

(POW)

Next thing I knew I was punched in the face and knocked back into one of the pipes. It broke and water began to pour from it towards the ceiling.

"Don't ever talk about her like that!" He yelled.

I rose back to my feet smirking that I got to him.

'Oh? She's not told you about our history? Sorry you had to find out this way.'

I teleported behind Kid Flash and put him in a headlock. I teleported both of us into the air, swung him around, and launched him into the mess of pipes that were below.

(BAM)

Several pipes were busted, and water was blasting everywhere now like an out of control sprinkler system comprised of firehoses. At the center of the progressing monsoon was a very ticked off Kid Flash. He began to run in circles using the air current he was mustering up to suck all the water into the vortex forming a waterspout heading right towards me.

(SPLASH)

All the gallons of water combined with the initial force of the man-made tornado propelled me up the flight of stairs we previously came down and shot me out through the secret doorway up top like a cannon. In the time it took me to recover and get my bearings, Kid Flash was now across the room from me next to the trap door.

"You're out of your league you know."

'Funny, I recall landing a blow on your face back at the museum.'

"You had help back then. You're all alone now."

Kid Flash sped towards me. He was fast and while our powers were similar in function, he had a slight edge over me in the sense that he could think faster than me. Luckily, my mind and wits were sharp. In a split second I teleported out of the speedster's way making him miss his target and crash into the wall.

'Just like bullfighting.' I mocked. It hadn't even been five seconds since the taunt left my mind and I felt myself being spun around in circles similar to how athletes launch shotputs in track. I was launched full speed towards the second floor of the facility. I broke through the walkway and shattered the large window on my way out. I ended up on the rooftop of the neighboring warehouse wondering what the hell just happened. I was sore all over. Breaking through multiple layers of construction materials will do that to you. I couldn't afford to take another hit like that.

Kid Flash ran up the side of the building and was making headway towards me to get another blow. I pulled my cape over myself and warped into my dimension where space and time were relative. I calculated my exit point and targeted the speedster's Achilles tendon. This was going to hurt, a lot.

(SLASH)

I calculated my trajectory perfectly to intercept Kid Flash and slice right through his tendon. At the rate he was running, when I sliced through his vulnerability, the momentum was enough to have him roll a good thirty meters before he stopped. He held his tendon in pain as it bled and leaned against the skyline the warehouse had.

"AAARRRRRGGGHHHHH… dude! Was that really necessary?"

'You started this game, and now you don't want to play anymore?'

"I was winning…"

'Was.'

"All the Titans are a game to you aren't they. Including Raven. When do you win that game? When you finally bed her?"

This guy just didn't know when to quit. You don't antagonize me and expect to live.

'It's game over for you.'

I ran towards the speedster and full on tackled him through the skyline. The glass shattered, and we broke through into the warehouse falling multiple stories before we hit the floor. We were both disoriented from the fall, but we could hear machinery in the background. When my vision cleared I could see a complex automated assembly line. It started with metals being melted and molded into small panels no bigger than a pecan half. The circuitry was then welded on and finished with a signature insignia I would never forget, Slade's.

'For the record, I found this place first.' I gloated.

"…I really hate you Kyd." Kid Flash responded somewhat chuckling. He was in good spirits for someone who just had his Achilles tendon severed.

But the clinking, welding, and other assembly noises were drowned out by footsteps that caused a seismic earthquake with every step.

"What is that?" Wally asked.

I turned and saw that the source of the vibrations was massive. A humanoid shaped, golem type monster was towering over us.

'Goddammit…' I said.

"Oh God, it's CINDERBLOCK!"


	28. Hive Mind: Ternion

**CH28: Ternion**

The entire time Kid Flash and I were squabbling like children, it didn't occur to us that there might be actual bad guys to fight. Here we were on the ground tired from the beating we each received from each other with Cinderblock towering right above us. The concrete giant brought his arms together above his head and brought them down with such force. I managed to envelop both Kid and I in my cape and teleport us to the second floor of the warehouse while we heard a giant crash below us.

'That could have been us. Can you run?'

"Run? You severed my tendon. I can barely stand!"

'Quit bullshitting. We both know you have an accelerated healing factor.'

'Yea I do, but even so, some parts of my body take longer to heal than others."

Of course they do. Lord knew I would need help taking Cinderblock down. But in the state Kid Flash was in, he would be more of a burden than a help. I looked down to where he was and saw him now walking up the steps to our level.

'How much time do you need?'

Kid Flash examined the damage I had done earlier. His ankle was no longer bleeding but it would seem he really was having trouble standing.

"A couple minutes at least. Hold him off while I contact the rest of the team. It shouldn't take them that long to get here."

'Terrific.'

Cinderblock was now on our floor and staring right at us. I stared right back as he began to run towards us. I extended my arm and opened a portal which he ran full speed into. I opened the exit portal above the layers of conveyor belts that were in the warehouse. Might as well cause some damage to Slade's property while we were here. I saw Cinderblock fall multiple stories before breaking through the layers of machinery before he hit the ground.

(CRASH, CRASH, CRASH)

The concrete giant looked stunned. I teleported off to the side next to some generators proud of myself.

'This might be easier than I thought.'

Soon as the words left my mind I was blasted by a nasty goop-like substance and propelled back into some shipping crates. Nothing's ever THAT easy is it? Across the room I saw a goop monster with multiple green eyes like a mutated spider and he smelled awful.

'Plasmus? You're here too? Man, Slade must really want to protect this place.'

The goop giant elongated his limbs and attempted to hit me. I pivoted off to the side and severed the appendage extensions off as they came.

(BAM)

I swear if I crash into one more wooden crate I was going to kill someone. Cinderblock had just sucker punched me, and it hurt a lot. It felt like being hit with a wrecking ball… or Angel's fist. Either one was an appropriate metaphor for the pain I was feeling. Both Cinderblock and Plasmus were coming my way and I needed to come up with a game plan. Thankfully, a countermove had been made for me.

Plasmus was surrounded in a vortex generated by intense speed. Seems Kid Flash was back in the game. The goop giant dissolved into sludge and was eventually shot towards Cinderblock knocking him back into the generators shocking them both.

'You seem better.' I told Kid Flash. He was hobbled over like he was out of breath and eventually fell to his knees.

"I'm still not fully healed. I'm surprised I was able to run at all."

'Did you call the rest of the team?'

"Yea, they are a couple minutes out."

'Seems like you bought us some time. Thanks for the help, I'll try to keep you safe till they get here.'

(ZAP)

Kid Flash tackled me out of the way of an incoming lightning bolt that struck the floor where I was standing. It seemed to have emanated from the generators I had knocked both bad guys into. A single lightning bolt manifested itself in front of Plasmus and Cinderblock taking a humanoid form. He was big and comprised of pure energy aside from a red glowing facial chip he used… well, for a face.

"And Overload makes three." Kid Flash said annoyed. Bad enough we had two monster to deal with but three is a crowd.

The stage was set for a massive brawl to ensue. Cinderblock once again began to charge at both me and Kid Flash.

"I got this." Wally who was now able to stand fully began to vibrate his legs at superspeed creating a small earthquake that shattered the concrete floor and made a ravine which Cinderblock fell into about waist deep. I on the other hand flew towards the elevated walkways that were overhead and severed the support structures. They came crashing down right on top of Plasmus sending bits and pieces of him everywhere.

Overload kept trying to zap me and Kid flash. It was as if a new electrical strike was heading towards me as soon as I came out of warp. With his speed, Kid Flash had no problem dodging the lightning strikes but this was getting troublesome for me. Wally sped his way to the top floor and began rubbing his hands together super-fast generating enough heat for the sprinklers to detect and think there was a fire. It was soon raining in the entire warehouse and Overload was short circuiting in intervals depending on where he stood. The less cover he had, the more vulnerable he was.

He retreated to where the generators were and began to draw power from them.

"Titans go boom." He said. The energy Overload drew from the generators was sent right back to where it came from. The discharge of that much energy made all the mechanisms around us fail, short circuit, and explode. The conveyor belts were the first to blow up, followed by the automation arms and light fixtures. Finally, the generators themselves blew up.

(BOOM)

Kid flash and I were sent crashing through the warehouse's entrance and made ourselves comfortable on the ground. We stared in awe at the building that was once pumping out control chips was now on fire. Certain walls were destroyed and we watched the rest of the remaining architecture get drowned in the blaze.

We were both very letdown when we saw three massive silhouettes beginning to emerge from the fire. Cinderblock was the first to appear followed by Plasmus and Overload.

'These guys never die do they?'

"Each one of them is a pure substance. So no, they aren't easily destroyed. Why? You getting tired?" Wally teased.

'I can do this all night.'

"Good thing you won't have to."

I looked in the direction Kid Flash was staring in and saw the rest of the Titans arrive at the scene. Beast Boy in his pterodactyl form was carrying Cyborg alongside Starfire who had Robin. Raven was levitating Jinx and boy was I happy to see them. All of them.

"Backup has arrived." Wally said relived.

Raven helped me off the ground while Jinx did the same with Kid Flash. We all got battle ready. Cyborg had his cannons, Beast Boy was now a T-rex. Robin had his bow staff, like that was going to do anything, and Starfire had her bolts locked and loaded. Raven was surrounded by her black aura and I just stood there cape in hand ready for anything.

"Get ready, this is about to get a lot harder." Robin said.

'Oh, like this has been a piece of cake so far.' I replied annoyed. 'But seriously? It's going to get harder?'

"Just watch."

Raven had me focused on the horror that was about to take place right in front of me. Cinderblock began to dislodge certain parts of himself into more scary looking limbs. Plasmus took on his liquid form and completely enveloped the concrete Titan, oozing out of his eye and mouth sockets, pretty much anywhere the big guy had joints. Overload also somehow fused with them creating a super freaking ugly hybrid of all three monsters.

'The hell is this? Like they weren't ugly before?'

"Ternion." Cyborg responded.

'What.'

"We fought him once before when Terra was partnered with Slade."

The horrible screech made by Ternion was enough to divert all our attention back to him. On his back he grew techno-plasmatic tentacles. Its forearms grew concrete spikes on the sides similar to Bat-man's gloves. And from its torso grew two more arms each resembling the parent contributors (Cinderblock, Plasmus, Oveload).

"Only this time it might be little harder." Cyborg anime sweat dropped.

"Take him down." Robin ordered.

'You've lost your mind…'

"TITANS GO!"


	29. Hive Mind: Turning Tides

**CH29: Turning Tides**

As the Titans charged at Ternion, Cyborg and Raven stayed back as support. The half man shot off his cannons while Raven used her powers to launch several vehicles which exploded on impact. This seemed to piss off the monster instead of helping us out. The ground troops, me included, were getting bombarded with the electrically charged plasma tentacles. Several of them wrapped themselves around Jinx and Robin and shot them into the air. My ex-leader was caught on a nearby rooftop by Kid Flash, and Starfire snagged the boy wonder midair.

Ternion buried its hands in the ground and lifted up a massive piece of asphalt which he threw in my general direction. I dodged to the left and evaded the enormous mass whilst slashing at the monster's knee joints. After he was brought down to the ground, Starfire buried him into the pavement when she landed directly on top of him. A massive crater was now in the middle of the access road between the warehouses and facilities.

From the dust came a goopy frog-like tongue that snatched Beast Boy. It retracted back into Ternion's mouth and began to envelop itself in an electrical shield, shocking the poor Titan inside.

"It has Beast Boy!" Shouted Raven.

Robin threw concussion grenades at the monster which were blocked by the electrical shield. Kid Flash ran to the warehouse which we tussled in and brought back in his speed stream several gallons of water which he propelled right at Ternion.

(ZAP)

The shield short circuited giving the morpher inside enough time to get his bearings and shape shift into something big, like an elephant. Ternion spit out the oversized Titan unable to confine him inside any longer due to the sheer size of the beast.

"That was disgusting." Beast Boy said as he morphed back into human form.

"We're not stopping this thing." Raven said as she helped the green Titan back up.

"We need to short circuit the control chip like last time. But I can't get to it if it's on guard with its tentacles. Kyd Wykkyd and Beast Boy, distract Ternion. Jinx, embed him into the ground again. Cyborg, Kid Flash, Starfire, and Raven, get ready to unleash hell on him. Titans Go!"

I warped several meters off to the side of the monster.

'Hey ugly!' I doubt it could even read my thought projection but trash talking was part of the fun of any fight. All four of its arms came flying my way as they elongated to make short of the distance between us. I teleported several times evading every single one of its appendages. Beast Boy in cheetah form was avoiding the tentacles from Ternion's back every so often turning into something small like a mouse of bat when he ran out of breathing room. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Robin getting comfortable on a nearby rooftop as we were keeping the monster distracted.

"Go Jinx!"

The sorceress' eyes glowed pink and several blasts of hexes made their way along the road towards Ternion. The ground split right underneath the beast and he was shin deep in the asphalt.

"You four know what to do!." Robin yelled from up above.

Kid Flash started circling his arm at super speed and unleashed a tornado blast while Cyborg stuck with his usual plasma blasters.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven unleashed hell as she shot a pure magic blast and Starfire used her star beams from her eyes. All four attacks hit Ternion head on and launched him into a building facedown. Robin shot his grapple and swung down to where the monster had fallen. He quickly got on his back with the short circuiting device in his hand.

"I have to be quick." Robin then placed the device where the control chip was located and instantly the monster began to short out violently. The initial jolt of electricity sent Robin flying back hitting the ground hard.

We all noticed the electrical shield envelop the beast again but this time it was pulsing, discharging a bolt of electricity with each interval. After the third strike of energy hitting a nearby facility, we knew something was wrong.

"What's happening?" Beast Boy asked.

"Cyborg?" Robin inquired.

After a few seconds of silence the tin man responded.

"My scanners indicate that the electrical discharge is in an endless loop due to the shield. It must have been triggered when the short circuiting device was planted. It will keep building up energy discharging a little at a time until it's too much to contain. When that point comes, it will cause a massive explosion."

"How could this have happened?" Jinx asked.

"Slade. He must have know we would try the same approach to take Ternion down and set a trap. My guess is that the control chip was also a bomb designed to feed off of Overload's energy and Plasmus' toxicity once triggered with Robin's device."

"How big of an explosion are we talking about." Kid Flash asked.

"At the rate the energy is increasing, large enough to take out this whole waterfront, and the surrounding buildings." Cyborg responded.

"How much time do we have?" Starfire asked worried.

"Seconds. We need to get this thing as far away from us as possible."

"Kyd Wykkyd, can you teleport that thing away from here?" Robin basically demanded.

'Not with the discharges of electricity. It will disrupt my teleportation mid warp if that keeps up.'

"Can you do it if the energy is contained?"

'A mass that size… I will have to teleport with it.'

"Oh no, we are not going through this again." Raven said worryingly.

'I'll be fine. You just have to contain the energy long enough for me to teleport it over the ocean. Once I'm out of warp, I'll teleport right back.'

Raven looked worried and I understood why. Last time the Titans were threatened with a bomb it almost cost one of us our lives.

"We don't have time. Do it now!" The leader shouted.

Raven gave me a worried look that told me to be careful before her eyes turned white. A black shield surrounded Ternion and the energy was contained. I flew into action and flew around the massive beast in circles all the while my cape got longer to the point where I could envelop it. I wrapped around Ternion like a snake suffocating its prey and took the whole monster with me.

I came out of warp over the waterfront a good distance from the warehouse district and let the monster fall into the ocean. Steam began to immediately rise and the electrical current spread through the water like lightning across a dark stormy sky. I was in the process of pulling my cowl over myself to teleport when the explosion went off creating a monumental tidal wave. I was trapped by the undertow when the wave started and I writhed in pain as I felt the surge of electricity channel itself through my body. I was tossing and turning as I was being propelled by the mass of water. Raven was so going to kill me for this.

…

I woke up on a rooftop and I was drenched. I coughed up some water and observed the surroundings. Everything was wet and most of the buildings in the warehouse district were damaged. Where was my team? What happened to the Titans? I stood up made my way to the other side of the roof near an emergency exit only to see a girl overlooking the waterfront.

She wore a blue turtleneck, red tank top, blue skirt, and had gorgeous ivory wings. My heart stopped. I haven't seen her in quite a while.

'It can't be…'

I inched closer before her voice caught me off guard.

"It's ironic don't you think? Once upon a time your very existence was devoted to obliterating the Titans for what they did to you. Imagine my surprise when I found out you became one of them."

'Angel?'

She turned around quickly and grabbed me by the neck, lifted me off the ground, and started choking me.

"No Kyd. Not Angel. Not the Angel you remember anyways. Father was right you know, you're going to pay dearly for betraying us."

'Ra..vager.' I struggled.

"I'm touched, you do remember me." She smirked evilly. The crazy psycho in my ex-girlfriend's body was going to kill me. I struggled against her grip to no avail as she literally squeezed the life out of me.


	30. Hive Mind: Fallen Angel

**CH30: Fallen Angel**

I couldn't breathe. Angel's grip on my throat was like a vice cutting all airflow off. I tried to pry her hand off my neck but it was no use, she virtually had amazon strength. I lifted my lower body and managed to put one leg behind her neck and the other in front in a firm hold. If I couldn't beat her physically, I was going to have to be cunning and use technique. Using all my body weight, I flipped Angel and I onto the floor with me landing on top of her. Her hold on my neck was no more and I could feel the blood flow rushing back to my head.

I got up with lightning speed and made effort to put some distance between us. I was going to fly into the air to gain a vantage point but my efforts were thwarted by Angel who instead grabbed my cape and jolted me down hard, resulting in me being embedded into the roof. I saw her fist come down and I was barely able to roll out of the way before I saw a plate sized hole where my head just was.

I came back and kicked her on the side of the head but being the doofus I was, it didn't occur to me that her helmet was not just a fashion statement. Even with the force I put into my kick, the kinetic energy was absorbed and dissipated thanks to her helmet. She came at me with a sideswipe of her legs hoping to get me off balance and I took off into the sky. Big mistake. Her wings propelled her through the air with such speed, the distance I manage to put between us was now nonexistent.

(BAM)

She backhanded me into a building which I went in through one side and came out the other ending up on the ground. Granted most of the buildings were in a poor state thanks to the tidal wave, but it still hurt a lot. I forgot how much I missed her being on my side during a battle. I picked myself up from the ground and got into my signature battle stance as she slowly descended and landed on an overturned car across from me.

'What the heck Ravager? What's your problem? Get out of Angel!'

"What's my problem? Did you seriously just ask me that?"

In a split second the car Angel was perched on was now flying my way. I teleported to an open area evading the flying pile of metal and watched it blow up as it impacted.

"My problem is you Kyd! You betrayed us, both my father and I! We had the Titans dead to rights. Then you in all your conflicting morals had to screw things up. What's worse, you became the very thing you once hated, what I still hate, a TITAN!"

Angel enlarged her wings and shot straight towards me. She brought down her left wing with the intent to kill. I teleported to the opposite side of her but was swatted by her right wing which sent me and some debris skidding across the road like a rock on a pond. Angel was relentless. I barely managed to get my bearings before she was on top of me again. She attempted to punch me but I grabbed her wrist and wrapped her in my cape teleporting us both. Using the momentum she had before the warp, I launched her into the side of the warehouse where she became well acquainted with the entire structure as it collapsed on top of her. This was far from over. Angel emerged from the rubble and cracked her neck like nothing even hit her.

'This is going to take a while isn't it.'

"You have no idea. My tenacity mixed with Angel's strength make an unstoppable combination. Father was kind enough to let me have you all to myself while he cleans up your friends."

'My friends?' In the distance I heard rumbling followed by the crashing of several structures. It appeared Angel and I were not the only ones fighting it out in the aftermath of the tidal wave.

'Your father can only do so much with one body. There's seven Titans, and only one of him, depending on which body he's controlling now.'

"Actually there are seven Titans and four of him, so to speak. And actually, the numbers vary depending on whether or not he uses Billy's powers to their full extent."

'Billy?'

Angel's facial features were overcome with such a wicked smile it sent chills down my spine.

"Oh that's right, you have no idea. In addition to being reunited with your ex, Slade and I have taken the liberty of bringing the rest of the Hive Five here for the Titans final demise.

I couldn't believe it. My old team was here. And under the influence of Slade and Ravager.

'Mammoth. Gizmo, Private Hive, and Billy Numerous? They are all here?'

"Plus myself in Angel's body makes five, The Hive Five."

They were all here. Any hope of getting to them before Slade planted the control chips in them were now gone.

'Did you have to bring all of them?' I couldn't believe both of them came up with a ploy like this.

"Why not? Figured the best way to destroy you was with your friends. And with the inhibitor chip implants in their spines, we can control multiple bodies remotely at a time. The algorithms from our supercomputers make it so that every decision we make in one body is variant to another body. Missing information in regards to tactics and attacks are filled in, and all we have to worry about is how badly we want you to suffer. All the chips are in sync with each other making it so that information is shared, stored, and accessed during battles. Think of it as, a Hive Mind."

I anime sweat dropped. Hive Mind huh? That is so copyright.

'You come up with that term all by yourself?'

"Father did. He knew you'd like it. But enough with the pleasantries. Time to get what I came here for."

'Wouldn't happen to be Cyborgs chocolate chip cookie recipe would it?'

"Your corpse idiot!"

The battle between Angel and I continued from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally visiting the ground when either one of us knocked each other down. She was currently trying to use her massive wings to crush my bones. Each one had the force of a locomotive behind it. I knew if I got hit even once, I would be incapacitated long enough for her to finish me off. I teleported out of harms way only to realize the blow was a fake. She pinned me against the brick wall with her right wing while the left wing adjusted into a point to impale me.

"It's over Kyd." She thrusted the tip towards my chest and I thought I was a goner until I saw her wing, and eventually the rest of her, be consumed by pitch blackness.

"Zinthos!"

Angel went flying through the opposite brick wall I was facing and crashed into a warehouse next door.

'Your timing is impeccable.'

"As is your disappearing act. I told you to be careful when dumping Ternion into the ocean. Instead you create a freaking tidal wave that wiped out half the facility and worried the heck out of me when you were nowhere to be found!"

'You're welcome Raven.' I chuckled to myself when she rolled her eyes so far back into her head she looked possessed.

"What's the plan?"

'Well so far, I've been playing the game "stay alive" with Angel.'

"How's that working out for you?"

'I'm still alive, but not having very much fun.'

"We'll maybe it's time to play a different game."

Raven took off into the air with me following close behind. We saw Angel punch her way out of the building she was sent into. Raven used her powers to break off a part of the warehouse and sent it plummeting towards the ivory winged girl.

'That's not going to work.'

"What do you me…"

In an instant, the warehouse debris that was dropped towards Angel was now coming straight back up towards us at a good speed. Raven and I flew out of the way unharmed but she was not amused.

"She's super strong?"

'Comparable to an amazon.'

"Anything else you want to tell me?" Raven asked irked.

'Yea, her favorite color is blue, and I went to prom with her.'

Raven just stared at me like I was the biggest idiot in the world. Apparently my sarcasm was not amusing at this time.

'I'm not getting any action tonight am I?'

"Try the rest of the year." Raven replied smugly.

Angel was soaring up towards us but Raven used her magic to top her midair, and shoot her into the street below.

(BAM)

Now, in the center of an asphalt crater was my ex-girlfriend.

'Dude! What's your problem? If we incapacitate them Slade will most likely self-destruct them like he did with See-More!'

"Then what do you propose we do? Let her and the Hive beat us up?"

'No, not at all. But there has to be a way we can snap them out of Slade's control.'

"Cyborg might be able to help. Come on."

We flew off towards another section of the facility where Cyborg and Jinx were fending off an army of Billys. There were only about fifty of them, but it was enough to give both the Titans some trouble.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Raven's magic scooped up all the Billys and sent them into the bay where they had to swim back to shore if they wanted to cause more trouble.

"Girl why didn't you come help us out sooner?" Cyborg chuckled as Jinx kept blasting Billys as attempted to climb out of the water.

"We need to sever Slade's connection to the control chips, otherwise we won't be able to take down the Hive without consequences."

Cyborg thought long and hard.

"Slade has a signal dampener in place somewhere around the vicinity that prevented us from locating his manufacturing plants main position while still being able to control the Hive right? Maybe we can tweak the signal so that it acts as a kill switch severing the control chips altogether." Cyborg explained.

'How would we do that?' I asked impatiently.

"That radio tower to the east would be our best bet. It might not be where the signal is originating from, but I bet dollars to donuts it's how Slade is amplifying the signal in this dead zone. If you can get me to it, I'll be able to save your friends."

We had a game plan. With most of the Billys incapacitated, Jinx began collecting them one by one Until there was no one left but the original. Now it was a matter of playing keep away until the control chips were disabled. Raven enveloped Cyborg in her magic and we all took off towards the radio tower. It was time to get my friends back.

As we zeroed in on our target, I saw Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Kid Flash fighting Mammoth, Gizmo, and Private Hive. With Billy's duplicates under control and Angel nowhere to be seen, the numbers were in our favor. Now it was up to Cyborg to work his techno magic so as to make sure Slade's kill command does not injure any more of my friends. I still remember what happened to See-More.

We were several hundred feet from the tower when I was tackled midair by Angel.

"Kyd!" Raven yelled.

'Don't worry about me. Finish the job!'

We crashed into a concrete foundation that had been flooded forming a crude makeshift pool. The impact loosened Angel's hold over me and I shoved her off making sure she was nowhere near me when the initial shock from the crash wore off. I will never forget her grip on my throat earlier.

She got up from the pool of water and glared at me.

"I know what your friends are up to. It won't work."

'We'll see.'

She lunged at me wings first like lances. I teleported behind her midair and sent a swift kick to her backside making her land in the water yet again.

"The radio isn't the source of the signal."

'We're aware.'

"Really? Then why bother trying?"

'Because genius, Cyborg is going to modify the signal into a kill switch that will disable the control chips without damaging my friends.'

It was Angels body, but I could feel Ravager's death glare originating all the way from her headquarters. She observed as the Hive was indeed getting pushed back by the Teen Titans. If she wanted to stop Cyborg, she was on her own. As if she read my mind, she used her wings to launch herself into the air and sped towards the top of the radio tower.

'No you don't.'

I teleported several meters above her, surrounded her with my cape, and teleported us both a good mile away from the tower. We came out of warp and I kicked her into an unfinished building comprised of 'I' beams which promptly came down on her. She exploded from the debris sending multiple steel beams in all directions hitting buildings and cars surrounding the area.

"You idiot!"

'Try as you might, I won't let you anywhere near them. I get my friends back today Ravager.'

Her fighting spirit looked gone and her glare lessened. Had she given up?

"A minor setback."

Angel turned and began to make her leave.

'You're not going anywhere!' I was going to punch her in the back and attempt to keep her busy for just a bit longer until Cyborg finished his job. I surmised Ravager was trying to take Angel's body out of range of the radio tower so as not to lose her most powerful leverage she had against me.

(BAM)

Someone got hit alright. Me. Angel used one of the steel beams to hit me like a baseball. I landed on the dirt completely disoriented, but conscious enough to see her land in front of me and place the steel beam on top of me. I wasn't going anywhere.

"Next time Kyd Wykkyd."

Angel levitated and took off into the air over the waterfront until she was no longer in view. The sad moment was interrupted when I heard massive feedback from the radio tower. Seconds went by and the rumbling and noise from all the fighting dissipated. It seems Cyborg and Raven were successful in shutting down the neurological control chips by altering the amplified signal. Had I stalled Angel for a few more seconds…

'Goddammit Angel.' I was going to get her back if it killed me. Slade had lost control over most of my friends, but that wouldn't stop him and his daughter from plotting to hurt me and the Titans. I stared at the sky and waited for my team to help me out of this uncomfortable predicament. At the same I wondered if I would be lucky enough to get another chance to save Angel.


	31. Hive Mind: The Joining

**Warning: Lemon Ahead. This is a lengthy chapter where Kyd Wykkyd and Raven finally get together. Read at your own discression.**

* * *

 **CH31: The Joining**

After what seemed like forever, my teammates finally came to help me out of my predicament. Ravager managed to escape with Angel's body but not before she left a steel beam on top of me which had to weigh several hundred pounds. Starfire took the beam off me like it was nothing and I was back on my feet. I was glad to see that they were all alright, but most importantly, I was glad that my Hive friends were now free from Slade's control. The scene before me was quite humorous.

A proud Cyborg was carrying a knocked out Mammoth while Kid Flash and Jinx carried an exhausted Billy Numerous. I saw Raven who was covering her ears levitating Gizmo and Private Hive who both wouldn't shut up. Private Hive was a little disoriented but his commotion was drowned out by Gizmo's babbling.

"This is harassment you know! Bad enough you crud-munching Titans beat us in the Brotherhood base, but now we wake up in this dump, with no idea how we got here, and the first thing I feel is Robin's foot kicking my face! Wait till I get out of this magic, I'll make mince meat out of you pit-sniffers!"

In the time I've known Gizmo, he had always been an overly dramatic, funny little man. He seemed ticked off but his hissy fit ceased the moment he laid eyes on me.

"…what the crud… Kyd? What in God's name are you doing with the Teen Titans? You better have not pulled a Jinx on us you Batman look-alike or I'll make mince meat out of you too hmmphh."

Raven shut up Gizmo and Private Hive with magic bands around their mouths. It was relieving but I couldn't help but feel bad for them. I wondered how long it had been since they acted of their own will. Now that they were free, they were just trying to fill in the gaps.

"Take us home Kyd. We have a lot to figure out."

I obliged the boy wonder's request and in an instant we were all back at Titan Tower.

…

It took some patience, and a lot of explaining to get the now fully conscious Hive to calm down. They were all being kept in a holding cell which had clear shatterproof walls so that you could see the inmates clearly, and adequate audio receptors on both sides of the prison so as to allow communication between both parties.

Mammoth, who was recovering from being walloped by Cyborg, held an ice pack on his head looking grumpy. Private Hive and a group of Billy's were off to the side listening in on the conversation that was taking place between Gizmo and the Titans.

"Let me get this straight… you scud-crunching Titans froze us with our own machine and left us, only to have been busted out by Slade, who first recruited Kyd Wykkyd as an apprentice but ended up betraying him. And as a result of that betrayal, Slade has been using us as puppets to get revenge on the teleporter via implants in our freaking brains?"

"Spinal cord but you get the picture." Cyborg corrected smugly.

I thought Gizmo was going to take off flying through the roof of the cell when he started flapping his arms like a maniac and began panicking.

"GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!"

"Calm down. Cyborg will get the implant out with some help. But once you are chip-free, you're going to have to cooperate with us in getting the rest of them out of your team. And finally, you're going to have to help with See-More." As Robin explained what happened to our beloved cyclops, Gizmo's expression became grim.

"Is he alright?"

"He's been in a coma since Cyborg patched him up. But with all three of you working together, he stands a very good chance to come back good as new."

"Three of us?"

"You and Cyborg will be working with Ray Palmer."

"Ray Palmer? That nerd? Why do you need me? Or Cyborg for that matter? We would just get in his way."

"Because, time is of the essence. While the chips may be deactivated, they still possess the detonation device in them. There's no telling what type of signal could set them off. With all three of you working together, it will be faster for you guys to reverse-engineer how the devices work and come up with a portable kill switch we can take with us to our next encounter with Slade."

"What are you saying? That Slade implanted control chips in other villains besides us?"

'Angel.' I spoke up.

"What?"

I came from behind Cyborg and faced my old teammates. They all looked skeptical with everything going on but most of all, they looked worried. Their implants could potentially go off whenever, so their lives were still technically in danger.

'Slade still has Angel. I need that kill switch to guarantee her safety, and any other villains which have been implanted.'

"The plan is to purge you all of the control chips, save See-More, then go after Slade at full force." Robin explained.

"As if we'd ever team up with you! You guys are the reason we're in this mess." Gizmo crossed his arms and began pouting as Robin rolled his eyes.

"We didn't implant bombs in your spinal cord, Slade did. He did that to you and other villains. You'd be lying if you said that you would rather be in jail than have a shot at him." Raven bluntly countered.

"Yea well, how do you expect to find him? I bet if you could you wouldn't have bothered to go to the waterfront in the first place."

"The chips." Robin said. "With a decent number of them intact, we should be able to triangulate where the signal is originating from.

At this point, Gizmo stopped talking in layman terms and began to speak some foreign language in electrical engineering.

"Even with multiple receivers, you're still going to have to filter out all the static from other machines in the area while making sure that Slade doesn't pick up our piggybacking carrier wave."

Multiple question marks appeared above Mammoth, Billy, and Private Hive's heads.

"Which is why when the chips are out, you will be helping Cyborg with that process as quickly as possible. If you help us, when this is all over, I'll consider giving you villains a day's head start before we chase you down and lock you up. Do we have a deal?"

The gears in Gizmo's head were turning and working hard. After much consideration, he must have come to the realization that this was the best deal he was going to get.

"One condition, Kyd Wykkyd comes with us." Gizmo countered.

'What?' I exclaimed.

"What?" Raven said loudly.

"We were a great team Kyd. The Hive Five is not complete without our wicked teleporter. Besides, once we save Angel, I'm sure she will also want you to come back to us."

The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Kyd Wykkyd can make his own decisions. I'll leave it up to him. If he want to go back to a life of crime, I won't stop him." Robin compromised.

All eyes were on me and I didn't do well under peer pressure.

'I'll think about it.'

With that response the entire Hive was in smiles.

"You got a deal bird wonder."

"It's boy wonder!"

"Whatever snot-nose."

With the deal in motion, Cyborg made preparations to operate on Gizmo, as well as the rest of the Hive Five.

…

While Cyborg operated on Gizmo I was in my room pacing back and forth. I was so nervous my hands were shaking. This whole war with Slade could be over in a matter of days and everything would be back to normal. But what was normal? Me being an honorary Titan fighting crime definitely wasn't. Stealing and plundering with my supervillain buddies, now THAT was normal. But after everything I've been through, going back to a life of crime didn't seem appealing to me. On one hand, I could rejoin my old team and quite possible pick up where I left off with Angel. I had missed her after all. On the other hand, doing so would piss off the Titans as well as hurt Raven. She didn't really open up to anyone, and I was one of the few she trusted in the short amount of time I had known her. Dammit, what was I going to do?

"YOU'LL THINK ABOUT IT?"

If I was nervous earlier, I was scared to death now as I saw a flaming Raven barge into my room with the most dangerous glare I had ever seen.

"So after everything we've been though, our time in the Bleed, Titanfall, you're just going to up and leave us?"

'I said I'd think about it. Remember, after you gave me Robin's ultimatum I told you when this was all over I might not stick around.'

"Fantastic. Nice to know I mean so much to you."

'You do mean a lot to me idiot!'

"I don't come close to Angel do I?"

That remark caught me completely off guard.

"You're went easy on her back at the warehouse district, you want to 'guarantee' her safety with the portable kill switch, and you may quite possibly leave me and go back to your ways of crime for her."

'Dude, when you put it that way you make it sound so complicated!'

"Explain it to me then."

'I don't know… me and her have history. We've been through a lot together. I just want to make sure she's safe you know.'

"After all the progress and friends you have made, you would throw it all away for an ex-girlfriend?"

'No… I don't know… maybe.'

As I told Raven those words I saw the feelings she had for me slip away. If she still had sentiment for me, it was hidden behind her defensive emotional walls that had just been put up. Her face which was scowling earlier was now neutral and void of emotion. The magic power emanating from her dissipated and everything seemed eerily quiet. I was hurt as I saw her turn and start heading towards the door.

"Just like a villain. Can't say I'm surprised."

I really screwed up this time. I wasn't about to let whatever Raven and I had end this way. I rushed and grabbed her by the shoulder to stop her from leaving only to be greeted by watery eyes and a magic blast that sent me halfway across my room. I landed on my butt and I was disoriented for a bit before I noticed a couple tears stream down Raven's gorgeous cheeks.

"Don't touch me." Raven once again turned and began to walk towards the door. I got up and teleported in front of her and wrapped my arms around her silhouette. I didn't know what I was doing but I couldn't let her leave. I felt her magic power begin to increase. A black aura enveloped her and the ground began to shake. I made the mistake of making eye contact, only I didn't know which pair to look at. Raven's violet eyes were now replaced with four demonic red orbs that felt like they were staring directly into my soul.

"I told you not to touch me!"

Ravens hair was now in the air like octopus tentacles waving everywhere. This was a side of Raven I had never seen before. If she was acting out of pure rage and heartbreak, I could very well get killed.

"Azerath,"

Shit.

"Metrion,"

Shit Shit Shit what do I do?

"Zinthmmmpphhhh"

I had no clue what possessed me to do it. If she finished that mantra who knows what would have happened. Raven's magic power dissipated slowly but surely as her red eyes went back to normal. Hurting her was the last thing I wanted to do, and this was just starting to make up for her pain. We were two meters from the door to my room interlocked in a passionate kiss. The embrace that I held Raven with was returned with one of her own.

Our lips separated and I wasn't quite sure what to do but apologize.

'Raven, listen…'

I was rudely cut off by one of Raven's soft fingers on my lips which didn't make any sense because I was a telepath.

"Don't speak… or think."

I stood very still as her hands began to take off my cowl. She looked surprised when she laid eyes on the real face behind the mask. She gazed into my royal purple eyes as she stroked my black hair, finally realizing that it was me who interrupted her reading time back in the park before Titanfall.

"You?"

'Yea, me. I thought you said no talking.'

"I told YOU not to talk. There's a difference."

'That is so not fai…'

My complaint was put on hold when she began to kiss me again. Her hands this time went to my costume as she awkwardly tried to take it off me. Clearly she had no idea what she was doing and it was quite humorous. But what really caught me off guard was that Raven was the one initiating things. I helped her take the top part of my costume off and she gazed at my defined abs and pectorals. I knew gym class at the Hive Academy would pay off. I would never be huge like mammoth, but I did alright for a guy my size.

Raven had her fun, now it was my turn. I took off her cape with ease and tossed it aside. I then unzipped the back of her outfit and eased each side off her shoulders until it was down to her waist. I then wrestled for a good ten seconds with he clasp of her bra before I finally managed to get it off. Raven was now topless. He perky breasts were exposed and she was blushing like crazy. She took off the rest of her costume and shoes leaving her in her black panties. It was cliché for a scary girl like her but I wasn't complaining.

Every asset of clothing we lost resulted in us being one step closer to my king sized bed. I also took off the rest of my costume and boots resulting in me being in nothing but my purple boxers. I kept waiting for Raven to make a move but she just kept staring at the bulge in my underwear.

'You ok?'

"Hmm? Oh yea. I'm just not sure what to do next. The movies I've seen typically never go beyond the big kiss. I was kind of just making this up as we went along."

I fell over and anime sweat dropped so hard it wasn't even funny.

'Let me get this straight, this entire time, you've been going off of a movie you have seen?'

"Not the whole time! I had to improvise the cowl part."

'This is too much.' I began to laugh uncontrollably as I rolled on the bed.

"Shut up! Not all of us are experts at this stuff! If they had movies where they showed what came after the big kiss I would probably be better at this."

I managed to breathe again after wiping the tears of laughter from my face.

'They do make those kinds of movies. It's called porn.'

"What's porn?"

I stared at her blankly. She couldn't possibly be this clueless.

'Get the fuck outta here. I expected this type of innocence from Starfire… not you.'

"Actually, I asked her for some pointers."

'Pointers?'

"Yea, she and Robin are very act…"

'Too Much Information!'

"Anyways, there is this position she told me Robin loves but you're not in the right place."

'How so?'

"I don't know. Here, let me…"

With a wave of her hand Raven picked me up from the bed and placed me on the ground. She scooted to the edge of the bed and began to slowly, teasingly, take off her black panties, giving me a full shot of her womanhood.

"Well?"

I saw her stare at my bulge with awkwardness.

'Oh right.'

I took off my boxers letting the beast loose and Raven's eyes went wide.

"That's not going to fit."

'We'll, women are kind of designed to take it so you should be fine.'

Raven skeptically gave me the stink eye. She turned around and scooted off the bed so that her legs were standing but her upper body was flat on the bed. Thank you Starfire!

I was nervous. Raven had never done this before so I had to be gentle. I was shaking from adrenaline as well as fear and I had no clue what I was doing. I kind of just leaned into her not knowing where I was headed.

(SLAP)

The force of Raven's hand against my cheek was enough to knock me on the floor.

"That's, Not, It!"

I rubbed my now tomato red check and looked sheepish.

'Sorry, my bad.'

Raven towered over me naked and pissed. She sighed and helped me up off my ass.

"Let's do it my way."

'Whatever you say.'

Raven and I scooted towards the head of the bed and she plopped her back on one of my pillows. She spread her legs and helped my ease onto her, and then into her. She guided my member to her opening with her soft hand, and after a bit of hesitation, she gave me the 'ok' to go in.

She winced as I went in, little by little, inch by inch, but eventually, all of me was inside her.

'You ok?'

Raven looked mortified that she was bleeding and began to breathe heavily.

"I'm fine! First time hurts that all. Hurry up!"

'Hurry up?'

"YES! Isn't this supposed to feel good later?"

'We'll yea but…'

"Hurry up!"

That was my cue. I supported myself with my arms to keep from crushing Raven as I thrusted in and out of her. As time went by, her cringing face began to morph into one of pleasure. She caressed my cheek with her hand as she emitted high pitched moans as I continued to pump in and out.

'Almost there.'

"Almost where?"

'No not a location. I'm about to cum.'

"Come where? You're already here."

'You're cute and all, but you are so clueless it's not even funny.'

I was a couple thrusts away from complete bliss. A few more… finally! I pulled out and created a small puddle on Raven's midsection and bellybutton. I plopped myself next to her, breathing hard and sweating lots. I turned over to face Raven expecting a kiss but was instead greeted by a mortified face.

"What…. Is that?"

'Umm, it's semen…'

"SEMEN? The hell is that?"

'One of the two ingredients… to making kids.'

Again I thought I was going to die but Raven instead unleashed her fury on my hard work and blasted it out the window with her magic. I looked at her in disbelief and began to chuckle.

"Don't laugh! It was slimy and gross! Don't ever do that again!"

I laughed even harder to the point where I was clapping my hands out of breath and looked like a retarded seal. When I sobered up, I came to the realization that Raven was a very special girl. Not just because we had joined together, she was special to me well before that. The gorgeous girl before me was a little naïve and headstrong, but her character and everything that she had done for me outweighed any of those little imperfections.

'I could never leave you. Not for Angel, not for anybody.'

Raven who was flustered and irked moments ago became serious again.

"If you mean that, you'll stay. Promise me, when this is over, you'll stay."

I thought about Raven and I's first fight over the pacific how I wanted nothing more than to capture her and get on with the Brotherhood's mission. I remembered our intimate moments in The Bleed where I willingly put myself on the line for her wellbeing and she the same. Titanfall was where I had an epiphany that I really wasn't cut out to be a hardcore villain. And during my time in being a Titan, I had learned a lot. If it weren't for Raven, I wouldn't be the villain… Titan, I am today. I leaned in and snuck one last kiss.

"I promise."

Raven's face was overrun with a smile. We held each other closely as we both drifted off to sleep. What started off as a hurtful confrontation resulted in one of the best nights I've had in a while, with Raven, the girl who believed I could be more than just a villain.


	32. Hive Mind: Yea Though I Walk

**CH32: Yea Though I Walk**

Every muscle in my body was relaxed and at ease as I laid dormant on my bed sleeping soundly. I had just had the best night of my life. Sure it started off rocky, but all's well that ends well. I felt as if I was in limbo and that nothing could wake me.

(RUMBLE)

Well so much for sleep. I was awoken by loud thunder in our vicinity and once I was up, the sound of pouring rain kept me from dozing off again. I looked to my right and next to me was an exhausted Raven. I thought she would have returned to her own room by now but it seems she was just as drained from our session earlier as I was. She was completely naked laying on her side facing me giving me a full view of her legs, cleavage, and gorgeous face.

I got up from the bed and dawned my costume after I found all the assets scattered throughout the floor. I returned to the bed and tucked Raven under the covers and left her own costume on the side next to where she lay. Having made sure she was comfortable and well covered, I made my way into the hallway where I viewed the ocean through the glass wall overlooking the bay. I was lost in thought. Everything Raven and I had gone through; The Bleed, the Brotherhood final battle, and Titanfall, it all led to the moment we seized a couple hours ago. Now what? We had sex, so what? People do it all the time and it rarely means anything nowadays. But to me, that special moment DID mean everything to me.

Raven was one of the reasons I've changed so much. Once upon a time I was a villain who wanted to rule the world, or at least Jump City. But she saw that I could be more than just a villain. Even early on, Raven let me into her world in a way. The fact that she trusted me enough to have her first time with me was extremely significant. I wanted to make things official between us. But what about Angel? Had that ship sailed and I was too strung up to see it? Or maybe I was too dumb to notice life was giving me a second chance at happiness through Raven. We are so much alike after all. It's not every day you meet someone as dark, gorgeous, and funny as yourself.

During my reminiscence, lightning struck, and amidst its flash of light, I saw a shadow imprinted in the glass coming from the other end of the hallway. I turned and saw my former mentor whose face was covered with a signature mask, half red, half black. I was shocked to see him here at our base.

'Slade.'

Another flash of light occurred and he was gone, but I could hear his footsteps fading into the hallway. I bolted in hopes of catching up to him and eventually came upon a fork in the hallway. One corridor led downstairs while the other to the roof. I heard a door open and immediately the sounds of the storm were amplified.

'Roof it is.'

I ran up the stairs, burst out through the exit, and emerged topside. It was raining bullets, and the wind wasn't doing much for me either. This had to have been the worst thunderstorm I've seen in a while in Jump City. I felt my costume slowly get soaked and got chills when the wind blew me head on. I explored for a bit looking for my assailant and eventually saw him across the volleyball court standing in a military position with his hands interlocked behind his back.

"Hello Kyd. Nice to see you again."

'Go to hell.'

"I take it you didn't like my surprise at the warehouse district?"

'That's putting it lightly.'

"Perhaps. I did end up losing control of most of your team, but Ravager managed to save the most important one, Angel."

I squeezed my fists in anger.

'Where is she you bastard?'

"Don't worry, I'll give you a sporting chance to save her. You just have to agree to play another game and abide by my rules. Unlike Robin who is constantly breaking them, I have no doubt in my mind you will follow them to a 'T', if you want to see Angel alive that is."

I literally felt myself backed into a corner. Sure Slade could have used Angel as straight up blackmail material, but he hasn't up till now.

'What do you want?'

"It's simple really. I want to kill you. But only after you've failed to save everything you hold dear. I will disclose to you the location of my hidden base. The rules are simple, come alone without telling the other Titans. If you manage to find and stop me before I terminate Angel, you win. But I warn you, while I'm simply handing you the location of my base, you will find that locating me inside it will be much more difficult."

'Even if I refuse, you won't kill her. You know she's more valuable to you alive than dead. We will find you and end this. I don't need to play your game to get what I want.'

Slade began to walk across the volleyball court where he was inches from the net.

"I figured that Angel would not be motivation enough. So in your foolish attempt to follow me up here in hopes to finish this, I decided to raise your stakes."

Slade had a mask on, but I could feel the evil smirk he had on his face.

"I heard you and Raven had a good time last night. Pity it will be the last enjoyable thing she will experience for a while."

My emotions burst. The snide remarks and pompous attitude, not to mention his threat to do harm to Raven set me off like a bomb. I sliced right through the volleyball net and part of Slade's armor catching him off guard. I teleported behind him and kicked him in the lower spine. He fumbled a bit but managed to block my next kick with his armored thigh. I moved to strike his head but Slade grabbed my right forearm with his hand which I grabbed with my left. I propelled myself off the ground in a flip motion and twisted Slade's arm into a position that isn't recommended by doctors.

(Snap)

"Oh you little…"

Slade didn't manage to finish his sentence because the instant he realized what I did, I sent a devastating kick to his chest which knocked him far back into the roof access point wall. I teleported in front of him and used my blade to penetrate his torso. It wasn't a fatal strike, but it was enough to incapacitate him.

'Don't ever threaten Raven! It's over. There is no need for me to play your game with you beaten.'

"Oh Kyd, you again fail to comprehend who you are dealing with. You will play my game, because if you don't I'll kill Raven and Angel together."

'How do you expect to do that from a jail cell?'

"I'm not going to jail Kyd. In fact, I'm not even at Titan tower right now."

My eyes opened wide in shock. Then it hit me. I realized that when I broke Slade's arm he didn't give much of a reaction. And even with my blade straight through his torso, there was no blood. I grabbed his mask and ripped it off which revealed a mini plasma display. Much to my expectations, the real Slade was in the monitor seated comfortably in his chair.

"You see my former apprentice, I'm not so foolish that I would storm Titan tower alone. But I am smart enough to send drones to do it for me."

'Drones as in plural?'

"Very good Kyd. Now if only you were as smart as you were stating the obvious. If I were you, I'd be checking up on Raven right about now."

My heart sank as Slade began his diabolical laughter. Could he have gotten her? After all, we hadn't been fighting for long, and there is no way he could have kidnapped her without a fight breaking out. Unless she was still asleep. Goddammit!

"Remember the rules Kyd, come alone without telling the Titans. The coordinates of my base are where you last saw your beloved girlfriend."

As the plasma display went black, the entire Slade drone shorted out. I teleported straight to Raven's room and looked everywhere. She wasn't in the closet, nor in the bathroom, much less in the bed where I had left her. My king sized bed was completely made as if no one had slept on it. Raven was missing along with the costume I had set aside for her. I saw the window the led to my personal balcony wide open. That was it, Slade had her. Not only did he have enough time to take her, but he further taunted me by making my bed.

I tore my linens apart searching for the coordinates to Slade's base. I ripped the sheets off first, nothing. I looked under the mattress, also nothing. I tossed the pillows aside, and underneath Raven's was a gps which I assumed held the coordinates. I turned the device on and saw the locator blip directly on Titan tower. I selected a pre-saved location and watched as the device zoomed out, way out, to give me an aerial view of the distance between myself, and Slade's base. To my surprise, his location was over the ocean, a good fifty miles from shore.

This was it, Slade's endgame. I headed towards Cyborg's workshop and passed by the med bay along the way. My former team, Mammoth, Private Hive, and Billy Numerous, they were all there recovering from their successful surgeries which removed the chips they had in their spines. I'm guessing Gizmo was with Cyborg working on the kill switch for the remaining villains which were being controlled. I was correct. I entered the shop and saw the tin man and midget finishing up some soldering.

"Hey Kyd. What's up?" Cyborg asked.

"You better be down here to take our drink orders because we've been working on this piece of junk for hours nonstop." Gizmo pouted.

I merely stared at them. Should I tell them what's happening? No, not with Raven and Angel's lives on the line.

'Is it ready?' I asked. It had to be. I couldn't' face Angel and other mobs of villains without it.

"We're finished building it but have yet to try it out. Gizmo, want to do the honors?" Cyborg asked with a stupid grin on his face.

"That's the least you can let me do after making me do most of the work you pitt-sniffer."

"Say what? You took the longest bathroom breaks I've ever seen!"

"Least I didn't take an hour nap chrome dome! Anyways, fire in the whole!"

Gizmo pressed the button and in a containment plexiglass box, a control chip which I assumed they recovered from one of my teammates deactivated. The activation light went off and the piece of metal was nullified.

"Bingo! Thank you Ray Palmer for solving the signal interference problem." Gizmo exclaimed.

"Seems like it's good to go."

'Good.'

I snatched the remote from Gizmo's hands and jumped back a good distance.

"What are you doing?" Cyborg yelled.

'There's something I gotta do.'

"Kyd, I understand you wanting to bring down Slade, but we need a plan first."

'He has Raven!'

The room was silent and I could feel myself shake in fear.

"How long?"

'He took her minutes ago.'

"Kyd, whatever he's making you do, we can help. We can take him down together."

"Yea man, just tell us what's going on. Let us help."

I took a deep breath and analyzed my situation. Gizmo and Cyborg, two different factions of opposing teams I had been a part of were working together for the greater good. And here I was setting them back several hours by taking the kill switch. These guys meant well, but as I said, there was too much at stake.

'I can't. There are rules!'

"Rules were meant to be broken." I turned around and saw Robin walk in. "Take it from me, there is a way out of this. Let us help."

I gripped the kill switch with a death grip.

'Sorry. I have to do this alone.' I wrapped my cape around me and teleported away, leaving both my old and new team in a state of worry, loss, and confusion. I came out of warp on the rocky shore of a beach and saw a very dim light in the distance across the waves. I looked at the GPS whose arrow was pointing directly in the direction of the dim light.

'Mark my words Slade, you're going to pay.'

I levitated and began flying towards my destination, not fully knowing what awaited me.


	33. Hive Mind: The Valley

**CH32: The Valley**

My heartrate increased the closer I got to my destination. The dim light which I had seen from the shore turned out to be a beacon for an oil rig. It was massive standing over the chilly waters by about twenty feet. The fog engulfed it hungrily but exposed several industrial sections at a time due to the ocean wind blowing steadily. Towards the center of the foundation was a steel beam tower that practically touched the heavens. The drill encased inside it was just as tall and designed to penetrate the toughest ocean floors. It was retracted however, indicating that the drilling had already been done. The main structure was surrounded by three smaller stations which I assumed helped anchor it amidst rough waters. Each one had a massive chain tethering it to the support structures of the main rig.

I passed the first station and instantly a system wide alarm was triggered. The beacon I saw from the shoreline turned a blood red and became ten times brighter. Several smaller indicator lights around the rig also flashed bright red and were complimented by the alarm. Slade knew I was here. I touched down on the top platform which overlooked the sub facilities and immediately I heard metal scraping. I looked towards the sky as I saw a shipping container heading my way. I teleported on top of a control booth and watched as the box of metal crashed through the floor taking a chunk of the oil rig's platform to the bottom of the ocean with it.

"Damn, you're quick."

I heard metal footsteps and from the shadows emerged a human completely encased in blue car armor.

'Adonis.'

"Haha. Nice to see you again Kyd. Too bad it had to be under these circumstances."

'Really Slade? You're using Adonis. This guy's a joke.'

"Hey! I'm no joke man. I'm going to grind you into dust if my pals here don't beat me to it."

'Pals?' I asked.

Adonis smirked something wicked. "Take a look around."

Off to the side I saw a green skinned humanoid alien with a giant arrow on his chest. I watched him press it and he instantly became twenty feet tall. Behind the shipping containers emerged a ten foot human-robot hybrid. His body was mostly metal except for the humanoid face exposed in his main torso section. XL Terrestrial and I.N.S.T.I.G.A.T.O.R. Haven't seen these guys since we teamed up with the Brotherhood.

"Let's get this party started." Adonis began strutting towards me and so did his two "pals". Ordinarily a three on one fight didn't seem fair. But I had a secret weapon so this shouldn't take long. I took out the kill switch and activated it. All three villains looked at me puzzled.

"Are you seriously trying to shut me and I.N.S.T.I.G.A.T.O.R. down with a TV remote? Don't make us laugh."

Adonis held his hands above is head, brought them down colliding them with the platform we were on, and made a giant sized whole where I once stood. I was totally confused. I thought the kill switch was working. Had Slade thought of a countermeasure already? No way he could have known unless he got the information from Raven. Regardless, I was in trouble.

I.N.S.T.I.G.A.T.O.R. came in with his metal appendages and attempted to smash me, making holes in the platform as well. I managed to evade all of his blows easily, eventually counterattacking with an incision to his right leg.

(SLICE)

I.N.S.T.I.G.A.T.O.R. was now on his knees. A massive shadow engulfed me from behind and surprisingly I saw XL Terrestrial winding up a kick. No way, could he really be that dumb? XL let loose as I teleported out of the way letting I.N.S.T.I.G.A.T.O.R. take the full force of the giant's kick. I saw him fly into the air like a soccer ball and land in the water a good 200 meters out.

"What did you do?" Adonis exclaimed. You idiot! Didn't you see I.N.S.T.I.G.A.T.O.R. in your line of fire? Goddammit, out of my way."

Adonis made his way towards the storage container I was on, picked it up with me on top, and launched it off the rig. This was almost too easy. I levitated and surrounded the shipping container in my cape and made it appear above the blue armored overcompensating villain.

"Aww dang it."

(CRASH)

I watched as I saw Adonis get crushed. Safe to say that it wouldn't keep him down long so I had to find a longer lasting solution. I set my sights on XL Terrestrial. I flew up to his face and sliced his right cheek. He didn't like that. He started swatting the air trying to hit me the way an unprepared camper tries to kill a swarm of mosquitoes. I slowly brought us closer to where Adonis was shredding the container to regain full mobility but he wasn't quick enough. XL brought down his fist in an effort to squash me. I of course teleported behind the alien and saw him bring down his fury on poor Adonis.

"Oh Goddammi…"

(SMASH)

Now Adonis definitely wasn't getting back up. All I had to do was incapacitate XL. I swooped down towards his Achilles tendons and severed both of them. They were such big targets they were hard to miss. I landed and watched as the giant I slayed came crashing down. He smashed through several layers of the rig and I used this to my advantage. I descended through several floors of the wreckage and began to look around. Only problem was, I didn't exactly know what to look for. Slade could literally be anywhere in this maze of floors and hallways.

I came upon an alley full of pipes setting off so much steam it was like a sauna in here. As I rounded the hall, out of the corner of my eye I saw a clawed fist coming my way. I barely dodged it but felt it penetrate my cowl and make a shallow cut on my cheek. The girl in the Cheshire mask was relentless. She launched punch after punch hoping to slice me up like mincemeat. I fought her off with my own blades and eventually kicked her in the abdomen throwing her off for a bit.

(POW)

'What the hell?' A powerful punch had sent me flying back into the pipes, and they were hot! I quickly recovered and made effort to see through the steam.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the wicked little teleporter."

No. Anyone but her. I watched as the two females completely emerge from the steam revealing Cheshire and Madame Rouge.

"Slade said you'd be dropping by." Rouge taunted while Cheshire just stood quietly.

'I don't get it, aren't you guys being controlled?'

"Excuse me?"

'Guess I'll find out...' I pulled out the kill switch and again activated it. Madame Rouge merely lifted an eyebrow in question before she began to laugh.

"Let me guess. That's a device that deactivates the inhibitor chips correct? Silly child, Slade doesn't have to implant a chip inside me, or any other villains for that matter, in order to get us to kill the Titans. And from what I hear, you are one of them now which means you're already dead."

Rouge extended her arm in an attempt to hit me. I ducked and teleported to the other side of the steam for some cover which resulted in her hitting some boiling hot pipes instead of me.

"Gah! Shit that's hot."

Of course. Madame rouge is vulnerable to heat. That's why she had a hard time capturing Hot Spot all those weeks ago. Cheshire lunged at me and began slashing. I blocked her left jab but wasn't quick enough to stop her uppercut which left three gnarly cuts on my right pectoral. Rouge again extended her arm and swung it towards the wall trying to pin me. I ducked and watched her pin Cheshire instead, hard!

(BAM)

"Goddammit child. Don't get in my way."

The impact combined with the steam and heat was enough to knock the poor girl unconscious.

'You just did me a favor.' I said cockily.

"To be honest darling, she was slowing me down."

I was shocked to be overwhelmed by a barrage of blows from Madame Rouge's super-fast appendages. I teleported as fast as I could down the hallway, but her blows were always present just as I came out of warp. It was as if she could predict where I was going to emerge.

"You don't have a chance against me. Not with a reduced surface area restricting your teleportation.

(POW)

Rouge socked me right in the jaw which sent me spinning into a wall.

"Say good-bye." She launched another punch. I teleported dodging the initial blow which resulted in her fist getting embedded into the concrete wall. The thing Rouge didn't expect, was me coming out of warp in the exact same place where I disappeared from. While she was looking off into the hallway waiting for me to emerge in her line of sight, I took my blade and severed her arm altogether.

"AAaarrrrrgggg! You ingrate!"

I flew directly at Rouge and tackled her into the wall with the fiery hot pipes. Steam let loose everywhere and I felt the temperature get hotter. She was sweating and didn't too hot… I mean good. I took both cape blades and severed multiple pipes allowing the flow of boiling hot water and oil to splurge everywhere. The explosion from the imbalance of pressure knocked me back into the corridor as I heard a horrific screech echo the halls.

'Damn, that was hard.'

I carried myself through the maze of tunnels until I came upon the steel beam tower which housed the drill that penetrated the ocean floor. I was right, the drilling was already complete and where the drill would usually be was a makeshift elevator. It was hoisted by a steel cable which spooled directly over the super deep hole. The walls of the chasm had been sealed with a watertight material preventing the ocean from flowing into it.

'Looks like I'm going down.'

As I descended into the underground, I couldn't help but think about what Madame rouge had said.

" _Silly child, Slade doesn't have to implant a chip inside me, or any other villains for that matter, in order to get us to kill the Titans."_

What if… none of the villains present here had a control chip? What if Angel was the only one? I couldn't take them all on by myself. The three on one fight in the beginning was pretty easy, but Madame Rouge and Cheshire did a number on me. I held my right pectoral to stop the bleeding while I felt the cut on my face sting. I was sore and tired, no way could I take on an army of villains in this state.

The elevator descended into a massively dug out area underground. There was dim lighting everywhere and the air was musty. It was very creepy to say the least. Amidst the little light there was, I saw a winged figure heading towards the steel cable that was lowering me and sever it. I spread my cape like bat wings to break my fall. I landed and flipped on the ground to avoid injury as I heard the platform crash on the ground. I immediately saw the winged figure divebomb towards me.

(CRASH)

Rubble was sent everywhere, and in the crater which was just formed due to a heavy landing, was Angel.

"Your speed never ceases to amaze me." She said with a wicked smirk.

'You know Ravager, you're a real bitch.'

I took the kill switch out and was about to activate it when all of a sudden I was being well acquainted with a rock formation. I was thrown through it like a bowling ball demolishing all the pins opposing it. I landed on the other side with small rocks and pebbles raining everywhere, and I hurt all over.

'Goddammit, why is nothing ever simple.' I tried to press the kill switch button only to realize that it was no longer in my possession. That wasn't good, I must have lost it when I shattered the boulder. I levitated and retraced my steps in hopes of finding it because I knew I didn't stand a chance against Angel in my current condition.

"My, my, up already? That was quite a hit you took."

'Yea well, I'm not one to lie down in the face of adversity.'

"You mean hopelessness right? Because let's face it, you don't stand a chance. And even if you do manage to get past Angel, father and I have many more villains you have to get through to save your beloved Raven."

'So be it.'

I teleported above Angel and brought all my weight down on her with a low-flying kick to her back. The gravity accelerated us faster towards the rocky ground and I embedded her in it.

(BAM)

Yet another crater was formed and I continued to look for the kill switch.

'Dammit, where is it?'

It wasn't in the flats, and it wasn't amongst the remains of the shattered boulder. I flew near where the elevator had crashed and where I was tackled laid the remote.

'Bingo.' I hauled ass and reached my arm out in effort to snatch it. Unfortunately I was undertaken again and pinned against another rock wall by my neck courtesy of Angel.

"You're through Kyd. Father thought you might actually be able to face him, but he said I could kill you if I managed to take you down. When word gets out that you failed, there will be no need for him to keep your precious Raven alive. She will be eliminated along with the rest of the Titans. How does that make you feel?"

The oxygen to my brain was being cut off as well as the airflow to my lungs as I struggled against Angel's amazon-like grip. But amidst my hopeless moment, I had in my right hand the tool to my salvation. By the time Angel noticed it, it was too late.

"Oh shit…"

I smirked as Ravager's cocky attitude faded.

'Looks like you're the one who failed.'

I activated the kill switch and immediately Angel let go of me and began to coddle her head in discomfort. It wasn't anything like the way See-More reacted when the detonation device went off in his spinal cord. The deactivation of Angel's control chip was far less painful. When it was over, Angel was on her knees catching her breath.

"What, the actual heck is going on? Kyd Wykkyd? Wow, I haven't seen you since the Brotherhood battle. What happened to your face? Where are we? How did I get here?"

'You know, it's one hell of a story, but first things first, can you fight?'

"Fight? I find out who did this to us I'll rip their heads off."

'Good because we could use some of your 'Angel' spunk right now.'

As hoisted Angel's arm over my shoulder to support her I saw from the mouth of the cavern several big bad villains emerge. Good God this crazy game never ends does it? I saw Atlas, Kardiak, my old partner Psimon, Killer Moth, Phobia, Steamroller, Wrestling Star, Punk Rocket, Trident, and several other villains which I assume Slade freed in exchange for their cooperation. Ravager who was their leader made her way to the front lines.

"You see Kyd, no matter how hard you try, you'll never save her. Father is always one step ahead of you. Even with your teleportation powers and Angel's strength, there is no way you can take on all of us by yourselves."

At this point I was aching and exhausted from all my previous fights to get this far. I mean, I shattered a freaking boulder with my body. Ravager was undoubtedly correct. There was no way we could take them all. What was I going to do? Raven's life was at stake and we had no reinforcements. Maybe I should have told the Titans what was happening.

"Who the hell does this bitch think she is walking in like she owns the place. Does she have any idea who she's dealing with? I'll rip her in half."

The look on Ravager's face was enough to get me to forget my worries and crack a smile. I forgot how mouthy Angel could be and that was enough to make me chuckle.

"Who are you calling a bitch? BITCH! I'll cut you into tiny little pieces and feed you to Johnny Rancid's dog over here!" Ravager responded mega pissed.

"I don't like her Kyd. How do you know her?"

I immediately blushed and remembered me and Ravager's … relationship? It was more like evil villains with benefits at the time, only super complicated. I started to sweat as I nervously came up with a way to explain the story to Angel.

'Well, um, she's Slade's daughter. When he took me in as his third apprentice, she was in charge of… training me.'

Angel's eyes became thin yellow slits as she glanced towards me in suspicion.

"What kind of training Kyd?"

'Well,' I felt my face on fire as I blushed in embarrassment. To think Angel would bring this up now of all times. 'Special training.' I smiled as I anime sweat dropped and rubbed the back of my neck.

"I fucked your boyfriend you turtleneck bimbo. I was in charge of his 'special training' as he put it. What are you going to do about it?" Ravager taunted.

"K Y D…" Angel strained out of her gritted teeth.

'Look Angel, it's not like that I swear. She violated me while I was sleeping, beat the crap out of me during our hand to hand combat sessions, seduced me into being her boy toy against my will, and incidentally, she was the one who was pulling your strings like a puppet while you were being controlled due to the inhibitor chip implanted in your spinal cord. She used you to hurt me. I'm the victim here.'

I was super nervous as Angel popped her knuckles in each hand.

"I think we can take them. I call the flat chested bitch who molested you…"

I remembered the first time I saw Ravager's knockers after I dumbed her into the Jump City Bay when I bested her in combat for the first time.

'Actually it's the really tight costume that makes it seem that…'

"You can take on everyone else by yourself. You owe me that much. Sound fair?"

Safe to say Angel was pissed, but who was I to turn down such a generous offer. Better this arrangement than getting my own head ripped off.

'Deal!' I couldn't blurt out my response fast enough.

We got set in our battle stances and waited for Ravager to make a move.

"If you want my father to keep his end of the deal, all of you villains will tear Kyd Wykkyd apart. The turtleneck bimbo is all mine. Got it? Attack!"

The villains rushed in while Angel and I prepared to take them down. Oh who were we kidding? We were so dead. Oh well, at least we'd go down fighting.

(CRASH)

I was surprised to see the shaft that led to the surface become bigger. Rocks the size of a smart car were falling down and a vortex of dust and rubble drowned out the light coming in from above. The villains, Angel and I all stared as we saw multiple silhouettes slowly emerge from the dust.

"You've got to be kidding." Ravager said.

I saw Robin be the first to come into full view followed by Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, Jinx, and Kid Flash.

"Titans, GO!" The boy wonder led the charge as they began to engage the villains. It was like a crazy spur of the moment rescue you would see in a good anime and I couldn't be more relieved. As the feeling of comfort began to encompass me, I saw several more figures come from the dust.

"Hive Five, eat 'em alive." I was overjoyed when I heard Gizmo's voice followed by the sound of Mammoth crushing Steamroller as he jumped into the air and tackled him. I saw an army of Billy's storm the field as Gizmo gave air support from above with his jet pack. Private Hive was pummeling Punk Rocket while Angel and I stood there dumbfounded to what was happening.

"Well, what a surprise. I never thought the Titans would save us, much less teamed up with the Hive Five." Angel planted one on my check and flew off. She found and tackled Ravager into a rock wall and began going to town of her. Yep, never piss that girl off. I was caught off guard by a green gloved hand on my right shoulder.

"Hey Kyd."

'Holy shit. See-More! You're alright!'

"Yea man. I'm back on my feet, and ready to kick some ass." The cyclops changed his vision into his laser scope and zapped Trident who was charging at us with his weapon in hand.

'How did you guys find me?'

"Duh! You think Cyborg would make something as important as a kill switch without some method of tracking it? It did take him and Gizmo hours to work on it after all."

Wow, how convenient. So it didn't matter whether I told the Titans my situation or not back at the Tower.

"Listen man, we got this mess here. You go save your girl alright. Don't worry about us, just give Slade a piece of my mind for me."

'You got it bro.' See-More and I fist bumped and we went our separate ways. He joined the fight as I teleported to the other side of the mob and sneaked past them into the caverns.

I must have travelled around fifty meters underground before I came to an inner chamber that was lit up with technology. The room was entirely lined with some type of metal which was illuminated via electrodes embedded in them. In a symmetrical pattern were multiple 'T' shaped generators which were drawing power from an unknown source. Conduits were feeding the power generated into some kind of containment capsule. It was huge, at least three stories tall and a circular window right smack in the middle revealing some sort of green water. A faint black glow was being emitted from the capsule.

'Raven?'

I flew to get a better view and sure enough, it was her. She had an oxygen mask on to keep her from drowning in the green water. Her arms were bound behind her back via specialized handcuffs which were also generating a faint dark glow. Her legs, arms, and mid sections were covered in evenly spaced nodes which were siphoning something from her. I noticed on top of the capsule was a power conversion unit that looked similar to the one which converted Kid Flash's and Jinx's powers into the immobilizing pulse.

'This better not be what I think it is.'

"Impressive isn't it."

'YOU!'

I launched a barrage of punches at Slade and he nimbly blocked all of them. Like seriously, what level was this guy on? I was going to have to step it up if I wanted to beat him. I used my blades this time and came pretty close to nicking him, only this time he flew out of range. Flew?

'Since when can you fly?' I asked.

"Since the machine was finished being constructed. Of course, the Power Converter is nothing without a power source."

Power converter? Really? That's what he was calling it? Then it occurred to me who was inside the capsule.

'Raven!' If he gets her powers…

"Winner, winner. I've waited a long time for this moment Kyd. I get to pay you back for betraying me and ruining Titanfall. And the irony of it all, is that I'm going to do it with your little girlfriends powers."

I stood shocked when I saw a black aura envelop Slade as he began to recite a familiar incantation.

"Azarath, Metrion, …"


	34. Hive Mind: Fear No Evil

**CH34: Fear No Evil**

"ZINTHOS!"

In an instant, the magic blast generated from Slade knocked me back into one of the T-shaped generators breaking it, resulting in an electrical discharge. Sparks flew everywhere and I was shocked that Slade in fact did have Raven's powers. Before I could get up, I found myself enveloped in a black aura. I was hurled at a wall which I bent on impact shattering multiple lighting nodes in the process.

'That does it.'

It hurt to dislodge but I had to keep moving. I couldn't let Slade lock onto me with his magic. I teleported to different corners of the room constantly and eventually he lost track of me. I nose dived straight towards Slade and brought down my blade full force.

(CHING)

Slade knew where I was coming from and responded with a thin magic barrier which was wide enough to shield him. He extended both his arms and hit me with a full powered magic blast. I slid on the floor till I came to a stop near the capsule where Raven was being held. I couldn't beat him. Even during Titanfall, I was only able to land a definite strike with Robin placing him in a headlock. But now with his newfound powers, I didn't stand a chance. I had to use my head. The only reason he has magic capabilities is because of the Power Converter. If I destroyed that, it would take away his powers. I took my blades and swiped at multiple power cords only to have them ricochet off without even making contact. The overall interaction made electricity discharge and knock me on the ground after shocking me.

"I took precautions this time Kyd." Slade said smugly. "Your pitiful blades won't be able to penetrate that energy shield."

Slade picked me off the floor by my head and slammed me against the barrier which shot electricity throughout every fiber of my being. The electrical burns hurt a lot and I barely had any control over my body as it writhed and twisted. Slade who was protected by his black aura merely stared as I was well on my way to oblivion.

"This marks the beginning of your end Kyd Wykkyd. I will maim you beyond repair and make you watch me kill the rest of the Titans and what remains of the Hive. Finally, I will kill Raven before your very eyes once she's outlived her usefulness. Only then, when your last pitiful hope is extinguished, will I end your life."

Once again everyone was going to suffer due to me being too weak to do anything about it. I just got my friends back, and now Slade was threatening to take them away again. As the electricity coursed though my body, I once again remembered everything I had been through. The Bleed, the final battle at the Brotherhood base, Titanfall, all those events gave me a new life purpose to be something more than just a villain. And Raven helped me realize that. No way was I going to let Slade win. I used every ounce of strength in my body to grab him by the arm.

"No point in struggling Kyd. You're not going anywhere" Slade said plainly.

'Beg… to, differ.'

With all the concentration I had left, I tried to teleport. If memory served, the last time Raven's powers and my own mixed we were sent to the Void. Hopefully this would produce a similar result. Sure we would be trapped there, but at least Slade would no longer be capable of hurting anyone in this dimension. The moment I began to warp, both Slade's powers and my own were nullified. Slade was now being shocked by the same electricity that I've been experiencing due to conduction. The world around us slowed and I felt the dimension shift in a way I haven't felt before. For a moment I saw faint flashes of light amidst absolute darkness.

(ZAP)

An electrical feedback loop detonated and it sent Slade and I to opposite sides of the room. I was twitching due to the amount of energy that was channeled through my body for so long. I regained my bearings and from what I could tell, we were not in the Void. Perhaps it was due to there being another factor involved which was the electricity when I attempted to warp. Or maybe it was because Slade's body was merely a conduit utilizing Raven's natural magic through artificial means. Whatever the case was, we were still in our home dimension and I had to finish this.

I got to my feet and saw that my costume was tattered and burned. I noticed that Slade also suffered some damage. His cracked mask was complimented by several holes and burns in his armor.

"You son of a,"

The last words he uttered were barely audible due to the sound of metal tearing. Slade hurled another T-shaped generator straight at me. When I dodged it, he began to throw whatever was available to tear apart and use as a projectile. He tore up the metal lined walls and shot the shards at me. He pulled up the flooring and hurled that also. I was dodging and teleporting constantly and determined that he was no longer thinking his moves through. He was acting out of anger sporadically.

The more I thought about it, I realized that Slade wasn't fighting like himself, he was fighting the way Raven would. The entire battle he hadn't been using his martial art skills. Instead, he was consistently using the black magic he was siphoning out of her. He was being too dependent on his borrowed powers and that was his weakness. If all he was going to do was launch long range attacks, all I had to do was get up close and personal. One good hit, one determinate strike should be enough to knock him off his game.

I was fatigued but was finally able to get a good vantage point ducking behind the remaining 'T' shaped generators. I made my move as soon as I saw the metal be enveloped in a black aura, indicating that Slade was concentrating on moving matter. I leapt into the air and teleported off to Slade's side. His arms were currently extended out and engaged in plucking the generator from its foundation. He caught wind of what I was doing but it didn't make a difference. I was moments away from wounding him. I took both my blades and spun like a vortex. All it took was two strikes, one to cut through his aura, and the second to slice open his side.

We locked eyes as I felt my blade slice open his flesh and we had an understanding; he wasn't going to win this time. The knockback from my attack sent him to the ground on his knees as he held his bleeding side.

"It's still… not over." He said.

I glared at him as he stood back up. Slade was a tough bastard that's for sure. He attacked me with several jabs that I dodged easily and tried to kick me in the side of my head. I blocked the strike with my arm and countered with a well deserved hit to the gut. I grabbed his shoulders and held him steady as I introduced my knee to his face, multiple times. I roundhouse kicked him into the wall but he bounced back with a fire in his eyes. He socked me in the jaw, leapt into the air, and kicked me in the chest.

I was done messing around. In an attempt to sock me in the face, Slade threw a punch that was way too sloppy, even for his current state. I knocked his arm out of the way with my own and brought up my leg in a split motion colliding the heel of my foot with his throat. After he landed on the ground, he held his neck with both hands like his life depended on it. He was definitely in discomfort as I heard him hacking and coughing. But I didn't care, he had this coming. I grabbed him off the floor and dragged him to where the energy shield that protected Raven was.

"What… are you doing?" He asked coarsely.

'Giving you a taste of your own medicine.' I threw Slade with as much force as I could muster and watched as he partially went through the barrier before the energy kept him from progressing any further. He was now suspended in mid-air getting the shock of his life continuously. The sound of his screams were music to my ears and the dance he was doing was quite humorous as well. I walked through the foyer and severed the remaining 'T' shaped generators. When the final one was offline, the electrical field eventually collapsed thus dropping Slade to the ground. Sure I hated this man for what he had done to me and my friends, but I wasn't a killer. I took several coils and tied Slade up so intricately, he would need a PhD in knot-tying to escape.

I wasted no more time. I pried the capsule door open and gallons of artificial Lazarus water spilled out. As Raven slid out, I yanked the nodes that were attached to her skin off and ultimately cut open the apparatus which bound her arms behind her back. I took the oxygen mask off and tucked the wet hair behind her ear. She was soaked but considering the healing properties the glowing green water had, I was sure she would be fine. I hypothesized the way the Power Converter worked was by draining its host of their powers while the Lazarus water replenished their stamina. The host would be a constant source of power like a replenishing battery. But now it was over.

'Raven?' She cringed and mumbled something under her breath. 'Dude, if you don't snap out of it I'm going to have to give you some mouth to mouth.'

She smirked and "miraculously" regained all consciousness. She looked a bit groggy, but she was fine which was surprising after all she's been through.

"Maybe that was my plan all along. What took you so long?"

'Excuse me? How about some gratitude?"

She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a strong hug. I returned it and for awhile it was just us in the destroyed room enjoying each other's company.

"Hey Kyd?"

'Yea.'

"Let's get out of here."

'Oh right. Can you stand?'

Raven got on her feet and began to levitate a passed out crispy Slade.

'Wow. That Lazarus water does wonders.' Raven smirked and grabbed my hand as we ventured through the caverns eager to rejoin our friends.

…

It was a long, and I mean LONG rest of the day. After the Titans and Hive Five beat the remaining villains senseless, they were all transported off to prison via police cruisers on the water. They brought a barge with specialized equipment to handle the bigger bad guys such as XL Terrestrial, Steamroller, I.N.S.T.I.G.A.T.O.R. and a couple others. I saw Robin, Raven, and the rest of the Titans make sure Slade was secured safely in a heavily armored V-22 Osprey under heavy guard.

I couldn't help but laugh as I saw a bruised up Ravager with her suit torn up be escorted onto one of the boats death glaring Angel who had a couple cuts on her slender arms. I made my way over to the secondary dock which she was perched on and made myself comfortable along the railing.

'So how was it?' I asked her.

"What? The fight? Bitch didn't know what hit her."

'And the cuts?'

"I might have gone easy on her, at first." Angel smiled and grabbed me off the railing and held me like we were about to dance.

"From what I hear, you went through great lengths to make sure I was alright."

I could feel myself blushing under my cowl but played it cool on the surface.

'We go way back. It's the least I could do right?' She put her hand behind my head and guided me to her face. Before I could object our lips were hugging each other. It was quick kiss, but not quick enough due to a certain someone being able to notice it. When we separated, a black aura manifested itself between me and Angel on the floor and out came Raven.

"Ooh this must be the new girlfriend." Angel taunted.

"Walk away." Raven said with her usual monotone voice.

The way she said it sent chills down MY spine but Angel got the message. She waved goodbye and flew to the upper levels rejoining the Hive Five.

'For the record she kissed me.' I said sheepishly.

"I know, that's the only reason why you're not swimming with the sharks right now."

I anime sweat dropped and rubbed my neck embarrassed.

"Come on, there's one last thing we need to do."

…

The police have since left to transport the villains and Slade to prison leaving the Titans and the Hive Five on the oil rig.

"A deal's a deal." Robin said. " You helped us with the inhibitor chips and the war against Slade. Now I'm honoring our agreement. You guys get one days head start."

"Aww yeaaa!" Billy rejoiced. Mammoth and Private Hive high fived each other while Gizmo and Angel looked a bit suspicious.

"This is too good to be true. You snot nosed Titans are actually letting us go?" Gizmo asked.

"We're not letting you go, we are giving you a head start." Robin responded.

The Hive just stood there like tools as if they didn't understand what the boy wonder said for the second time.

"Now it's a twelve hour head start. Keep standing there like idiots and I'll keep reducing the time." Robin said irked.

Finally the light bulbs appeared above the Hive Five's heads.

"Clutch it, let's get out of here." Gizmo deployed his jet pack and was about to take off. "How about it Kyd? You coming?

Raven came alongside me and grabbed my hand with a vice grip. There was no need, after all, I haven't forgotten my promise.

I shook my head side to side indicating no.

"Pfft, you're as bad as Jinx Kyd. Ditching us for a girl. See you on the flip side scud muncher."

I watched as Gizmo, Mammoth, Billy, and Private Hive made their way to a spare boat docked along the rig.

"If you change your mind, you know where to find me… us." Angle said seductively. I chuckled as I saw Raven's black aura envelop her and launch her into the sky.

"Time for you to leave." She said.

Angel merely smirked. "She's feisty, I like her." The girl with the ivory wings flew off to join her team.

'So what now?' I asked.

"Now," Raven wrapped her arm around my waist and coddled my shoulder, "We wait for the next crisis which threatens the world to pop up. And when it does we will be there to prevent it. But for now, we enjoy our victory… and each other."

Robin smiled as Starfire stood right alongside him while Jinx and Kid Flash also held hands. Beast boy and Cyborg were just ecstatic that they could go back to playing video games and pulling pranks on the rest of the team.

As for me, I couldn't believe it was finally over. Slade was beaten, my friends were safe, and I was now a part of something greater, a Titan. In all my years of villainy, I never saw this coming. I turned Raven's face towards my own and locked her in a passionate kiss. This was nice. The new life I had chosen would take some getting used to, but I knew without a doubt, everything I had been through leading up to this moment was worth it.

…

Amidst the torn up room deep in the underground cavern where Slade's power converter resided, a dark portal opened and out came five individuals with red and black color schemes.

"You sure this is the place love?" Red Robin asked. "The last place you took us to we had a hell of a time figuring a way out. Nothing but darkness as far as the eye could see."

Red Raven merely smirked as she caressed an edgy mirror she was carrying.

"No doubt about it. The surge which crossed space and time reaching our universe originated from here. Somewhere out there lies an individual who can travel through the multiverse on his own. Imagine how many worlds we could conquer if we were to say… borrow those abilities."

Red Raven turned to face her team consisting of Red Robin, Tempest, Arsenal, and Blackfire all who were smirking just as deviously as her.

"Right then, Teen Tyrants, commence the manhunt!" Red Robin ordered.


End file.
